The Matter in Truth

Aristotle once said, "Truth is a simple matter of saying what is they way it is."

Truth corresponds to reality, it is what is verified and confirmed to the fact of the world. Then what is not the truth, is false.

It is the opposite of all the definitions of truth, it is saying a matter that is, is not - or a matter that is not, is.

Falsehood is defined as a matter that does not correspond to the reality. Distinction of truth and false itself lies in how one defines truth.

What is truth?

How can a truth be absolute?

How do we know if it is what it is and how do we know if it is what is not?

The definition of truth itself is an argument yet to be settled. The significance of what is true and what is false is a matter of relativity and absolutism.

As Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There are no eternal facts, as there are no absolute truths."

In other words, it is saying that all truths are based on facts, but how do we know if a fact is true? A fact stated by man may change overtime, and so will the truth derived from the fact no longer be true. A man’s mind decides what is true and what is false, therefore truth is relative as every mind works and thinks in their own perception and ways. A person who believes in the existence of God would proclaim that everything written in the Holy Bible is true by simply reading the text, but a person who does not believe in His existence would question the bible and would demand proof of the bible’s context itself.

The word ‘eternal’ itself is defined as “lasting or existing forever”. Though to know that something is eternal, one should live forever to determine if it lasts forever or if it does not; but nothing lasts forever, every matter on earth eventually comes to an end. Then if nothing lasts forever, how can truth lasts forever? How can a person determine if a truth is eternal? An eternal truth therefore does not exist, as eternal itself does not exist in this world. Eternal itself is just a word to describe an event where it does not exist, assuming that nothing exists forever.

Truth is a matter of belief, and belief itself is a matter of opinion, but an opinion is not a fact, therefore truth cannot be defined by facts. If truth cannot be defined by fact, then it is an opinion, but if truth is an opinion, then nothing is true. Therefore, everything is true. As we live in a world where everything is relative, then there are different perceptions of mankind, each man has different opinions as they hold on to different beliefs and views. Every men has their own perspective and thoughts about a certain matter and no other thinking of men would be identical to his. A man’s opinion on the taste of apple would differ from another’s; one might find apples sour or might find it sweet. One might like it and one might not; one might find the claim “apple tastes sweet” true, and one might find it a lie.

A truth shall become absolute only if it is true for all man, for all places and at all time. Though what matter is true for everyone, anywhere and anytime? Man’s opinion and mind differs, and so does the characteristic of a place, moreover time; no one can proof and absolute truth as they do not live “all time” or forever. In art for example, eternal truth does not apply. Art is relative to the individual who sees it. An art believed to picture the most beautiful Romanian woman in the 13th century would not apply to China in the 19th century, as their perception of beauty differs from Rome’s, and time changes perceptions of men. Therefore, there is no absolute truth and if there is no absolute truth, there is no absolute lie. Then if there is no absolute truth and lie, how can there be absolute distinction of what is true and what is false?

If truth is anti-absolute, then it is relative. Relativism would suggest that everything is right, even when it is not. For if something is true for a man but not for the other, they both are considered right. This would mean that ethics does not exist, as it is a system of what is right and wrong and everything is right in relativism. This particular philosophy on truth would apply in spiritual beliefs. A Christian would say, “When we die, we go to heaven or hell” and a Buddhist would claim that “When we die, we reincarnate.” In the eyes of relativism, both statements are right, even if the first statement is considered wrong in the perspective of the latter. Both statement is valid because one cannot proof what happens after death. There is no physical evidence to claim if the statement is true or false, therefore everything is right.

In a case where there is an evidence of physical matter, two opposing statements on one situation cannot be true at the same time. If one says, “There is a car outside the house”, and another says, “There is no car outside the house”, assuming we believe in relativism, they are both right. Though it does not explain anything, is there or is there not a car outside the house? The car cannot “exist” and “not exist “ at the same time. It has to either exist or not; therefore, one of them must be false.

Relativism claims that “All truths are relative”, but does that mean that the statement is relative? If so, then absolute truth exists as truths can either be relative and it might not be. In some cases, one just can’t deny certain matters. You cannot deny that you are alive, if so, then it would mean you are dead, but if you are dead you cannot deny that you are alive. Therefore it has to be either one, and it alive as you cannot argue on your existence without living. Wouldn’t this mean that there is an absolute truth about your existence? Then there is an absolute truth.

In mathematics for example, all things are absolute. When two is added to two, it is absolute that the result would be four, it would not be six or seven as your teacher would mark it wrong if you answer so. There is a distinction of what is right and wrong, if it is not, all answers would be right and every student would get full marks. Then mathematics would be useless if it is relative, as it will never result to the absolute right answer.

The claim of the absolute distinction between what is true and what is false is not a black and white matter, it cannot be defined as truth depends on each individual. Absolute distinction depends on the areas of knowledge, in cases of historical matter it is not easy to distinguish what is right or wrong as past are records of what human saw, and not everyone saw it the same way. To me, an absolute truth exists only in the eyes of God, and as we do not have the eyes of God, one could not precisely distinguish the fine line between what is true and what is false.