Can anyone refute this definition of 'truth'?

Forums: Philosophy, Truth, Epistomology
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It's not my own, I think I read it on here actually. It is:
'Truth is what works.'

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Type: Discussion • Score: 16 • Views: 8,005 • Replies: 83

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@The Pentacle Queen,

Yes, the pragmatic conception of truth. It certainly is one of a number of possible conceptions and a very useful one. Wink

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I can't refute except by adding to it.
Truth is what works every single time.

Joe(there's plenty of things that work onced in awhile and then never)Nation

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@The Pentacle Queen,

Since "refutation" implies a concept of truth and falsity as axiomatic rather than pragmatic, your question implies a paradox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzynRPP9XkY

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@fresco,

Excellent, thanks.

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@fresco,

I agree but if an architect's calculation results in the collapse of a bridge, is that not both a failure in praxis and a refutation of some working hypothesis--a failure in both prediction and control?

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@JLNobody,

JLNobody wrote:

I agree but if an architect's calculation results in the collapse of a bridge, is that not both a failure in praxis and a refutation of some working hypothesis--a failure in both prediction and control?

a practicle truth

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@JLNobody,

The problem with designing bridges is balancing the expected tolerance conditions with respect to the available budget, rather than a failure of theory or practice. No bridge is likely to withstand improbable stresses.

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@The Pentacle Queen,

I'd like to give an alternate definition if I may. I like the definition of 'Maktub' in Paulo Coelho's book The Alchemist. It means 'it is written' in arabic to english translation (although the translation is apparently not comprehensive). Althought it talks about ones own path in the book, I like to see it as 'everything just is'.

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@Procrustes,

I'm not sure what you mean by "everthing just is" but it seems consistent with my attitude that Reality is what it is regardless of my notions about what it is. That's a kind of faith; no matter if I'm right or wrong, Reallity remains what it is, safe from my errors and those of others.

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How about; truth is the will of the strongest, most persuasive or the one most in fulfillment of the ideals we hold in regard.

"Truth is what works" serves a lot of practical purposes, but if we don't know what works, that can lead us to believe that the truth is impossible. A language game, certainly, but people seem to enjoy those.

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@The Pentacle Queen,

"The truth is obscure,
Too profound and too pure.
To live it you have to explode."

"Don't ask me nuthin' about nuthin' Babe,
I might just tell you the truth."

Bob Dylan.

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@JLNobody,

That sounds like my attitude too JL, although sometimes I feel 'notionless' when confronted with the Truth or Reality. It's like some kind of awe inspired reverence to them.

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@Procrustes,

Nice. Notionless is a state of bliss, a meditative state.

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@Cyracuz,

Isn't that similar to Foucalt's notion that truth is what the powerful are able to impose on the weak. I'm thinking of the Church's power during the middle ages (although that is only the most obvious example--the pattern is probably general and the reason I dislike the mass media owned by people like Rupert Murdock).

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@Cyracuz,

If it is about language then truth is relative to language and meaning. I can have a definition that blue means red and that would be true of my definiton, but it would be false for someone who agrees with the definition that blue means green.

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@Procrustes,

Tht's 'true'. Smile

But now you're talking semantics, not epistemology.

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@The Pentacle Queen,

To define truth in terms of work limits truth to the definition of work. I believe work is too limited for a definition of truth. For example, if one doesn't tell the truth, a lie, a lie is something that sometimes works.

When we speak of truth, truth is a synonym for right. Right can be defined as if a subject is within an extrinsic subject. Often the extrinsic subject is the field beyond language. Using this we can differentiate right with truth. We then can think of truth as if a subject is within the field beyond language.

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@Lustig Andrei,

How we justify things depends on the structure of semantics at times. If articulating 'truth' is to lay claim that something is indeed justified, then language does lend a hand to disseminating that knowledge. It is merely an aspect of truth.

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@JLNobody,

Quote:

Isn't that similar to Foucalt's notion that truth is what the powerful are able to impose on the weak.

Perhaps. The stronger force dictates truth, whether it is the rich vs the poor or the articulate vs the inarticulate. Gravity sets a limit to how tall trees can grow. I think it boils down to pretty much "what works" but also perhaps "the outcome". It also reflects that "truth" is subject to change.
For some reason that got me thinking about the Bob Dylan song, The times they are a changin'. Also Churchill's words; "history is written by the victors".

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Can anyone refute this definition of 'truth'?

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