Truth Research Articles

Voltaire: from Newtonianism to Spinozism

ABSTRACT The question of Voltaire’s belief in (or lack of belief in) God is a vexed one. René Pomeau’s classic study of 1956 argued that Voltaire believed in a God who would punish and reward in the next life. More recently Gerhardt Stenger has shown that, at least after 1764, Voltaire adopted a moderated form of Spinozism. He consistently rejected a materialist atheism on the grounds that the universe showed evidence of intelligent design, and appealed to Spinoza against d’Holbach. This article studies the evolution of Voltaire’s philosophical account of the deity, showing that he moved from a belief in a Newtonian creator God to a Spinozist monopsychism at least by 1756. But, under the influence of Warburton, he had come to reject Bayle’s concept of a society of atheists, and consequently held that the wider public must be encouraged to believe in a providential God, a view he pretended to hold himself. Reading Voltaire after 1756 it is thus essential to understand that he held a double truth theory, so that it is sometimes necessary to ‘read between the lines’ to discover his meaning.

Naïve Truth and the Evidential Conditional

This paper develops the idea that valid arguments are equivalent to true conditionals by combining Kripke’s theory of truth with the evidential account of conditionals offered by Crupi and Iacona. As will be shown, in a first-order language that contains a naïve truth predicate and a suitable conditional, one can define a validity predicate in accordance with the thesis that the inference from a conjunction of premises to a conclusion is valid when the corresponding conditional is true. The validity predicate so defined significantly increases our expressive resources and provides a coherent formal treatment of paradoxical arguments.

Ilmu dan Teori-Teori Kebenaran, dan Kontekstualisasinya dengan Pendidikan Islam

In this academic writing, there are three main discussions. The first discussion is about whether knowledge comes solely from reason ('aqliyyah). Next, the second discussion focuses on whether the "truth" of knowledge can be described with correspondence, coherence, practical-pragmatic, performative, consensus, and religion as theories of truth. The final discussion is about the source of knowledge, the process, and methods to obtain knowledge, ways to prove the truth of knowledge, and the levels of truth of knowledge. The level of truth of contextual knowledge in Islamic education comes from the revelation of Allah SWT, namely the Al-Qur'an. This academic writing is created to explore the position of knowledge and truth, as well as the nature and source of knowledge, and truth in the view of Islamic Education Science with the source of the Al-Qur'an.

The Law of Non-contradiction and Global Philosophy of Religion

AbstractThis article focuses on the applications of philosophical logic in the discipline of philosophy of religion of both ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ traditions, in which the problem of apparent ontological contradictions can be found. A number of philosophers have proposed using the work of those non-classical logicians who countenance the violation of the law of non-contradiction (LNC) to address this problem. I discuss (1) whether classical or non-classical account of logic is universal in applying to all true theories, and (2) whether there might be extra-logical considerations which affect what is the correct account of logic for the doctrines in question. With regard to Jc Beall’s application of non-classical (FDE) logic to the doctrine of the Incarnation, I argue using the evidence from the writings of church fathers that the meaning of negation found in the core claims of the doctrine of the Incarnation should not be interpreted in accordance with Beall’s FDE account, and that this extra-logical consideration refutes Beall’s project. Moreover, the FDE’s acceptance of the possibility of statements that are both true and false is contrary to what is allowed by the definition of negation in classical logic; therefore (contrary to Beall), Beall is in fact using a different definition of negation compared with the definition used by the classical account. I develop this point in interaction with contemporary philosophy of religion literature and explain its implications and significance for this discipline.

Truth clashes: caste atrocities, false cases, and the limits of hate crime law in North India

AbstractThis article brings together theories of truth in legal anthropology and the anthropology of religion to highlight how legal institutions can co‐opt hate crime laws and reproduce patterns of sociopolitical oppression. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research on the social life of India's only hate crime law – the 1989 Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA), which punishes violence against Dalit (ex‐untouchable) communities – the article argues that hate crime cases involve a clash between three different truth logics: attributive truth or credibility; formal juridical truth regimes defined by evidentiary technicalities; and a distinct mode of experiential‐discriminatory truth, which is defined by its processual character. As Indian police and judiciary conflate these truth logics in practice, they publicly and legally erase realities of caste discrimination and (re)construct marginalized communities like Dalits as greedy and unreliable narrators.

Blind Man, Mirror, and Fire: Aquinas, Avicenna, and Averroes on Thinking

In Islamic tradition, the Falsafa school is well known for its naturalistic account of religion. When Falsafa’s theory of religion made its way to the Latin West, it was embraced and developed into the so-called “double truth theory” in Latin Averroism. However, this theory quickly lost its influence in the Latin tradition, primarily due to the critique by Thomas Aquinas. One of the key aspects of Aquinas’s critique is his criticism of the emanation theory of concepts and the doctrine of the unity of the intellect, which in turn undermines the foundation of Falsafa’s theory of religion, particularly their theory of natural prophecy. This paper aims to revisit the debate between Aquinas and Falsafa regarding the theory of intellect as the basis for natural prophecy, with a focus on highlighting Falsafa’s perspective. In particular, I examine how Aquinas’s arguments overlook the key insights that underpin Falsafa’s doctrine of the intellect.

The Faithfulness to Fact

Abstract W.E.B. Du Bois regarded social reform as a legitimate object for the scientist. This paper argues that he gave a place to nonepistemic values in scientific reasoning and, to counter the effects of scientific racism, he constructed his approach around the belief that scientists must adopt an assumption or scientific hypothesis that African Americans are human. His engagement in scientific research was a way to reform the society in which he lived, which in turn, led him to defend the faithfulness to fact as his conception of scientific objectivity. This essay examines his sophisticated theory of facts, account of the difference between the natural and human sciences, and the unique instantiation of a pragmatist theory of truth.

Embodied Imagination: Lakoff and Johnson’s Experientialist View of Conceptual Understanding

This paper reviews an embodied or experientialist view of conceptual understanding. It focuses on George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s theory of embodied cognition and its framing of human conceptualization and reasoning in terms of embodied imagination. These ideas are summarized as ten basic claims: (a) objectivist assumptions are problematic; (b) many human categories have non-classical structure; (c) conceptual systems consist of cognitive models; (d) thinking utilizes frames, metonymies, and prototypes; (e) metaphor is prevalent and primarily conceptual; (f) image schemas structure our experiences; (g) the mind is embodied; (h) abstract thought is largely metaphorical; (i) truth is relative to embodied understanding; and (j) philosophy should be empirically responsible. Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of embodied cognition offers a view of conceptual understanding that is cognitively realistic (or empirically responsible), biologically plausible, and self-critical, while providing adequate theories of meaning and truth grounded in embodied experience.

Immanuel Kant’s Epistemological Ideas from the Point of View of Exact Epistemology and Artificial Intelligence

In exact epistemology Immanuel Kant’s statement on the priority of application of cognitive faculties is detailed as an intellectual process. Empirical regularities of the JSM–method of automated support for research are synthetic a posteriori judgements. Theoretical intelligence is primary, and its aspects are understanding (Verstand) and mind (Gemüt). The conditions of possible experience in Kant’s sense are implemented in the JSM–method of ASR in intelligent systems. And the JSM–method itself is the transcendental logic of artificial intelligence using two theories of truth, the coherence theory and the correspondence theory. Exact epistemology, which is exact neo-Kantianism, can be naturally considered as a reflection of information society culture on its civilizational (technological) aspects.

Taking Pragmatism Seriously Enough: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the British Debate over Pragmatism, ca. 1900-1910.

Classical pragmatism has often been branded as being primarily a new theory of truth. Using F.C.S. Schiller's response to an article written by F.H. Bradley, I show that, in fact, a certain theory of thought is the essential point of pragmatism according to Schiller as well as John Dewey and William James. I go on to argue that without taking this theory of thought into account we cannot properly understand the British reception of classical pragmatism in the early 1900s. I illustrate the significance of this contention by criticizing the responses to pragmatism given by Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore.

Comparative political theory and Gandhi: A systematic review

Comparative political theory epitomizes the use of the comparative method in political theory, by calling for the inclusion of non-western traditions of political thought in (re)thinking political theory. Based on the premise that political theory so far has been Eurocentric with a focus on the Western political canon, it seeks to foster inclusivity and relativity in theorizing politics, thereby leading to a dialectical development of theory itself. In this cognate subdiscipline, Mahatma Gandhi's moral and political thought has become a central component.This systematic review of the Comparative Political Theory-Gandhi relationship has two main aims. Firstly, it critically summarizes the methodological and epistemological insights that Gandhi provides in the pursuit of the comparative in Comparative Political Theory. Secondly, it encapsulates the insights that Gandhi provides for rethinking some core concepts in modern political theory: democracy, liberalism, nationalism, secularism, and the post-colonial. It concludes by identifying directions of further research at the Gandhi-Comparative Political Theory interface; all the while reiterating that Gandhi's philosophy of truth provides a doctrinal justification of the pursuit of the comparative method in political theory and consequently, the sustenance of comparative political theory as a subdiscipline.

Footprints on the Sands of Time: Mahatma Gandhi's Enduring Legacy and Global Influence

The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, often referred to as the Father of the Nation in India, extends far beyond the borders of his homeland. His life and teachings continue to inspire and influence individuals and movements worldwide. This research paper explores the enduring impact of Gandhi's philosophy of truth, nonviolence, and social justice on a global scale. Drawing upon historical context, literary analysis, and contemporary relevance, the paper examines how Gandhi's footprints on the sands of time have shaped societies, politics, literature, and culture around the world. From his role in India's struggle for independence to his advocacy for human rights and peace, Gandhi's principles resonate in the 21st century and offer valuable insights into addressing pressing global challenges. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this paper seeks to illuminate the multifaceted dimensions of Gandhi's legacy and its significance in today's world.

Cultural Pragmatism: In search of alternative thinking about cultural competence in mental health.

Researchers have tended to approach cultural competence through two primary models: acquisition of culturally tailored skills and orientation to cultural process. While each model plays an important, complementary role in cultural competence, both can be limited in conceptualizing and responding to cultural understandings of distress. This article draws on research in multicultural psychology, medical anthropology, and pragmatic philosophy, to introduce cultural pragmatism, a novel orientation to cultural competence that reconceptualizes what it means to hold something to be true in the mental health fields. This article first draws on research in multicultural psychology and anthropology to identify an important limitation regarding how truth is understood in contemporary cultural competence models and how this limitation can impact culturally competent care. Following this, the article considers philosophical pragmatism as an alternative, and introduces a model for practicing cultural pragmatism in clinical settings. As a whole, this article makes two interrelated arguments: first, that a better articulated theory of truth is needed to achieve the goals of cultural competence and, second, that cultural pragmatism can help resolve the limitation that cultural competence approaches currently exhibit.

Around "Deconstruction." Author’s Response

In this paper I reply to the four critical articles that were provided in response to my book Deconstruction (MIT Press 2021). It proceeds in four steps: (1) I begin with a reply to Stanisław Chankowski’s use of the psychoanalytic term “fetishistic denial” to describe the formal character of the text. (2) I then engage with the criticism supplied by Piotr Kozak, who questions deconstruction’s theory of truth (or its lack thereof). (3) From this, I take-up and respond to Przemysław Nowakowski’s proposal that deconstruction might provide a way to reimagine the interdisciplinarity of cognitive science. And (4) I conclude with a response to Michał Piekarski’s mashup of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jacques Derrida, which supplies a reading of these two thinkers that is arguably greater than the sum of the parts. The objective of the reply is not to offer a defense of myself or my text but to engage with these interesting and insightful reviews in a way that opens the space for productive dialogue.
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 Received: 28/09/2023. Reviewed: 30/10/2023. Accepted: 12/11/2023.

퇴계 감정이해방식과 적용에 관한 연구 - 퇴계 리발기수 개념의 창조적 변용과 확장 -

Toegye is a thorough theorist on the basis of Neo-Confucianism, but he can be seen as a representative thinker who brought the philosophical characteristics mainly appearing in the history of Chinese philosophy, the cosmological characteristics centered on the concept of selfishness, to the theory of human nature and emotions, the realm of human nature and emotion. Toegye deepened this further, and made an unprecedented argument in the history of intellectuals, namely, Gobong and the four main emotions, regarding the understanding of the emotions called the four main emotions expressed in the pure nature and the emotions called the seven emotions expressed in the nature that was enshrined in the spirit and revealed through learning ten diagrams to become a saint ｢聖學十圖｣ and the Four Seven Debate that emotions must also be rational in the theory of nature, which is the core of Neo-Confucianism.
 In this paper, along with a conceptual analysis of Toegye's way of understanding emotions, we try to make creative transformation and expansion by applying it to the main concepts shown in the a Variorum of the Four Books(四書集註), which can be said to be the representative scriptures of Confucianism. There are often questionable passages among the contents that are generally introduced while reading librarians, but there are times when I wonder if it is not possible to present different judgments and thoughts due to the professional authority and weight. In fact, to mention it by leaps and bounds, violence against knowledge power is also implied in its source.
 However, Toegye's method of understanding emotions is of great significance in that it analyzes and corrects the method of understanding our daily thinking structure, rather than simply dealing with it as a subject of the Four-Seven Debate argument. Therefore, in this paper, by examining some of the major concepts of the librarian with Toegye's way of understanding emotions, that is, with Toegye's logical structure of thought, we can transform our thinking structure in dealing with things and situations into a thinking structure toward the truth, a true philosophy (Philo + Sophia) to try to convert to thinking.

DISCUSSION IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHICAL KNOWLEDGE

The article is devoted to the study of the debate in the history of philosophical knowledge. The approaches to the problem of the discussion of the greatest philosophers: Socrates, Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, etc. are analyzed. The features of discourse in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times have been determined. It is established that an important reason for the development of the discussion is the fact that ancient thinkers already began to realize the internal dialectical nature of material, natural, social processes and phenomena. Philosophy, more than any other field of knowledge, needs debate. Where there is no freedom of discussion, there is no true philosophy. Truth is born in controversy. There is probably no other axiom as universally known as this one. But there is no other human activity to which such diametrically opposite evaluations would be applied. Some called the dispute their fate, their element, others avoided it. Kant and Galileo felt pleasure in the struggle of ideas. Newton and Darwin shied away from disputes and polemics, believing that, apart from wasting time and bad mood, they lead to nothing. But both of them sought the truth. In order to find out the truth, it is necessary to study both positions, we need a discussion that communicates not opponents, but interlocutors, and everyone strives not to win, but to reach an agreement, to mutual understanding, through the analysis and synthesis of opinions, to the unity of views on the problem. Therefore, a discussion, a dialogue, a dialectical conversation will lead to the truth (or to a single goal) faster than a dispute saturated with emotional obstacles, temperamental outbursts, the desire to offend the opponent, to strike him more painfully and to defend his opinion by any means. And the fiercer the heat of passions, the more stubborn opponents who convince in their views, the further they depart from the truth. In the course of the discussion, non-traditional approaches to solving complex problems are developed, specific practical proposals and generalizations are made, and proposed initiatives are evaluated. Discussions awaken people's activity and interest, increase mutual demands, self-criticism, strengthen control over the implementation of specific decisions. The article examines some of the main philosophical discussions, conversations, debates during which different views and points of view collided.

THEORETICAL PREREQUISITES OF THE FORMATION OF THE PHENOMENON OF POST-TRUTH IN THE SPACE OF METAMODERN

The phenomenon of post-truth is studied in the context of the metamodern cultural paradigm based on its oscillatory specificity, as an oscillation between the values of the modern and their denial by the postmodern, where the modern acts as a strategy, and the postmodern as a tactic of worldview-philosophical realizations. The purpose of the article is to identify the theoretical prerequisites for the formation of the post-truth phenomenon in the information field of metamodern culture. The worldview characteristics of metamodernism are defined in the study as oscillation, individualization, atopy, ‘new sincerity’ which create grounds for the flourishing of post-truth in the mosaic picture of the information space. The study presents the prerequisites for the formation of post-truth in the era of metamodernity, which are determined by the formation of the theory of truth in the continental philosophy of the 20th century and the total digitalization of the information space that is formed according to the non-linear principle of rhizome thinking. The analysis of foreign and domestic literature records an increase in interest in the research issues of metamodern, while determining the dominance of the artistic aspect of the modern cultural age in accordance with the ‘neo-romantic turn’. The study of the phenomenon of post-truth requires the activation of research on the part of political metamodern and its interpretations in the context of digitalization of the information space. The theoretical prerequisites for the formation of the phenomenon of post-truth are the rethinking of the criteria of truth in the phenomenology of E. Husserl, M. Heidegger, А. Arend, as well as epistemological studies of postmodernism represented by the views of W. Benjamin, G. Deleuze, A. Badiou and J. Lacan. On the basis of postmodern skepticism and nihilism regarding the possibilities of understanding the absolute truth, conditions are formed for replacing truth with truth which is allowed in the form of free interpretations as a prerequisite for the emergence of the phenomenon of post-truth. Against the background of the philosophical search for truth and the tendency to subjectify the methodology of its discovery, postmodernity contributes to the separation of the concept of truth from the philosophical concept of truth and forms the basis for the legitimization of post-truth as an oscillating position of the metamodern between truth and falsehood.

Truth as Identity

My aim in this article is to defend the essential core of the theories of truth that understand truth as identity, namely: that the truth-bearer is the truth-maker. In particular, I am interested in defending the version of Hornsby (1997) and McDowell (1994) against the attacks made by Dodd (1995; 1999; 2008). My defense is applicable to previous versions belonging to this family of theories, especially to that of Moore (1899; 1902).

The Practical Bearings of Truth as Correspondence

AbstractPragmatists are usually very antagonistic toward the correspondence theory of truth. They contend that the evidence-transcendent standard entailed by the theory is antithetical to the pragmatist methodology of elucidating concepts by exposing their practical bearings. What use could truth be to us if it offers a target we cannot even see? After judging the correspondence theory to be in violation of the Pragmatic Maxim, the pragmatist is prone to banishing it to the wastelands of empty metaphysics, where nothing of practical importance could ever grow. This article makes the case that this unjust condemnation must be appealed and overturned. The ground for my case is an argument to the effect that the correspondence conception of truth can be practically advantageous, which provides proof of the fact that, contrary to popular pragmatist belief, the correspondence theory does comply with the Pragmatic Maxim.

A Referential Theory of Truth and Falsity

A Referential Theory of Truth and Falsity