What is the truth? Every person seeks the answer to this question throughout his life. But there is a scientific concept of truth and its criteria. After all, philosophers and scientists at all times worried about this controversial issue. In the article we will give a definition of truth, consider its criteria, characteristics, get acquainted with the problems of cognizability of the world.
Truth and the problem of knowing the world
The problem of the cognizability of the world, the concept of truth, its criteria - this is one of the topics that today is examined at the exam in social studies. One of the topics that worried many thinkers of the past. Based on the basic understandings of the cognizability of the world, we can distinguish the following areas of understanding of truth:
- Empiricism. Based on the teachings of F. Bacon. Knowledge in the world is obtained only by experience. Without a practical test, it cannot be called true.
- Sensationalism. The head of the direction is D. Hume. Sensationalists are convinced that true knowledge of the world is possible only through the prism of their own subjective sensations.
- Rationalism. The founder of the direction is deservedly considered Rene Deckart. Rationalists argue that reliable knowledge can only be gleaned from the human mind. It is the result of analysis, inferences, reasoning, cannot exist outside the thought process.
- Agnosticism. Associated with the name of Immanuel Kant. Agnostics argue that the world is not knowable in principle. True knowledge is a priori inaccessible to man.
- Skepticism. M. Montaigne is one of the prominent representatives here. Skeptics do not deny that humanity can gain any knowledge. But they question its truth and credibility.
Empirical, rational, agnostic and so on. Such today exist the basic types of knowledge. The concept of truth and its criteria will be discussed later in the article.
What it is?
Truth is characterized primarily as a process. It does not act as a one-time act of comprehending the essence of the object in full.
Speaking about the concept of truth (we will consider its criteria below), it is important to know that it is one. At the same time, three aspects will always be distinguished inside it:
- Absolute.
- Relative.
- Objective.
Many thinkers do not consider the above aspects, but consider them independent truths.
Truth is knowledge that is fully consistent with its subject, completely coincides with it. You can highlight a number of its brief related definitions:
- Knowledge is true.
- Knowledge that is confirmed by experience and practice.
- Convention, dogma, some timeless agreement.
- The property of self-consistency of knowledge.
- Practically useful reliable knowledge.
Types of truth
While analyzing the concept of truth and its criteria, one cannot but touch upon aspects of this concept. We have already listed them. It remains to disassemble each in detail:
- The objective truth. Such knowledge, whose content will be independent of both the whole of humanity and the individual.
- The absolute truth. In this way reliable and fully comprehensive knowledge will be characterized both about a person, his activity, and about the whole world around him and his laws. This is knowledge that cannot be refuted in the future with the help of new developments and discoveries.
- Relative truth. This definition is suitable for incomplete, inaccurate knowledge of any object, phenomenon. It will correspond to the level of development of society, science at a certain moment, which determines the limitations of its receipt. Brief definition: knowledge, depending on the place, time and conditions for its receipt.
Features of understanding
If everything is clear with objective truth, the line between absolute and relative knowledge is very unstable. The difference between them will always be in the fullness of the reflection of reality and the accuracy of its representation. Being interested in the concept of truth, its criteria, we must remember that it is always concrete. And it will always be associated with a particular place, time and circumstances.
While analyzing the concept of truth and its criteria in social science, the teacher must also emphasize that not everything in the world can be evaluated with the help of “black and white”. That is, truths and lies. For example, works of art, personalities of rulers, famous people, military conflicts cannot be called true or false. Since the assessment is not set by him general, objective, but individual, subjective.
Main criteria
We continue to analyze the truth - the concept, types, criteria. As for the latter, then by them is meant that which is capable of verifying the truth, helps to distinguish it from error.
Among the main criteria are:
- Compliance with previously made scientific discoveries.
- Compliance with logical laws.
- Compliance with fundamental scientific knowledge.
- Conciseness, simplicity, understandability.
- The paradox of the idea.
- Practical applicability and provability.
In the framework of acquaintance with the worldview, the concept of truth and its criteria, we will present the latter in more detail.
What is practice?
Practice is a holistic organic system of material activity of people, which is aimed at transforming reality, is carried out in a certain social and cultural aspect.
The following main forms of practice are distinguished:
- Material production. This is human labor aimed at transforming nature, the world around us, creating a qualitatively new one in it.
- Social action. Social phenomena - from the adoption of reforms, following moral standards to revolutions and wars.
- Scientific activity of man.
Practice functions
Imagine the most important functions of practice:
- It is she who acts as a source of knowledge. Everything that exists today, all scientific knowledge and achievements, in one way or another, appeared due to the practical needs of man.
- The basis of knowledge. Man is not satisfied with the mere contemplation of the world around him, observing reality. Its nature requires the transformation of the environment according to its needs.
- The purpose of knowledge. Ultimately, a person cognizes the surrounding reality, reveals the laws of the functioning and development of the world in order to satisfy his practical needs.
- The criterion of truth. Any conclusion, theory, and even concept can not be called true, reliable, deserve attention until it is tested in practice and confirmed by experience. Prior to this, even the most ingenious thought is considered only an assumption and a hypothesis.
Practice and truth
Practice, like truth, will also be absolute and relative, definite and indefinite. Absoluteness here is understood in the sense that only developing progressive practice is capable of proving the truth or falsehood of one or another hypothesis, and finally confirming the theory.
As a criterion, practice is also relative. Like everything in the world, it is developing, improving. At some stage of its development, it is not always capable of confirming one or another argument put forward by a scientist or thinker.
Therefore, in philosophy, one of the main ones is the idea of complementarity. What does it mean? Practice is one of the main criteria of truth. It includes experiment, material production, and the experience accumulated by mankind. But practice should always be supplemented by the requirements of the rationale, the usefulness of one or another knowledge.
Logic
If knowledge is obtained through proof, it does not have the right to be confused and internally contradict itself. Also, it should be logically consistent with already known, recognized and proven scientific theories.
Example: if a scientist today puts forward a qualitatively new theory of heredity, which logically contradicts the laws of modern genetics, his discovery is unlikely to be recognized in the scientific world.
Compliance with fundamental knowledge
The new truth today must comply with the Eternal Laws. This is the law of conservation of energy, universal gravitation, supply and demand, the periodic law of Mendeleev and so on.
The truth also corresponds to previously derived recognized scientific discoveries. So, the law of inertia (First Newton's law) is fully consistent with the law of Galileo. Newton, on the other hand, examined the movement of bodies more deeply and versatilely than his predecessor.
We briefly examined the concept of truth, its criteria. Now you know that it can be objective, absolute and relative. It is precisely its criteria that decide whether truth belongs to any of the last two categories - practice, consistency, compliance with fundamental knowledge, provability, the absence of contradictions with recognized discoveries, etc.