Theories of Truth.pptx

Theories of Truth

1. THEORIES OF TRUTH

2. Preliminary Activities

3. Two Lies and a Truth

4. Brain Teaser A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in an unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking, logical puzzles and riddles.

5. You are in a cabin and it is pitch black. You have one match on you. Which do you light first, the newspaper, the lamp, the candle, or the fireplace?

6.  84% of people reading this will not find the the mistake in this A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z.

7. What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, yet never in a thousand years?

8. What’s full of holes but still holds water?

9. What word looks the same upside down and backward?

10. In knowing the truth or falsity of a statement, we generally use the following Theories of Truth

11. 1. The Correspondence theory of Truth: The basic idea of the correspondence theory is that what we believe or say is true if it corresponds to the way things actually are based on the facts. It argues that an idea that corresponds with reality is true while an idea, which does not correspond to reality is false. Example a. If I say, “The sky is blue” then I looked outside and saw that it is indeed blue, then my statement is true. b. If I say, “Pigs have wings” and then I checked a pig and it does not have wings, then my statement is false. In general, statements of beliefs, propositions, and ideas are capable being true or false.

12. 2. The Coherence Theory of Truth: It has already been established that the Correspondence Theory assumes that a belief is true when we are able to confirm it with reality. In other words, by simply checking if the statement or belief agrees with the way things really are, we can know the truth. a belief can be an inaccurate description of reality that may also fit in with a larger, complex system of further inaccurate descriptions of reality.

13. 3. The Pragmatist Theory of Truth The Pragramatic Theory of Truth states that a belief/statement is true if it has a useful (pragmatic) application in the world. If it does not, then it is not true. we can know whether a belief/statement is true by examining the consequence of holding or accepting the statement/belief to be true. A belief that is useful is not necessarily true and in normal conversations, people do not typically use the word “true” to mean “useful”.

14. Summary In sum, we can know if statements/beliefs are true if we look at each statement/belief and determine if they correspond to facts, cohere with the rules of the system and result into useful application.

15. Activity: Inquire and Discover Read the passage from “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” (Critical thinking, Communication, Character “Some prisoners are chained inside a cave, facing the back wall. Behind them is a fire, with people passing in front of it. The prisoners cannot turn their heads, and have always been chained this way. All they can see and hear are shadows passing back and forth and the echoes bouncing off the wall in front of them. One day, a prisoner is freed, and dragged outside the cave. He is blinded by the light, confused, and resists being led outside. But, eventually his eyes adjusts so that he able to see clearly the things around him, and even the sun itself. He came to realize that the things he thought were real were merely shadows of real things, and that life outside of the cave is far better than his previous life in chains. He pities those still inside. He ventures back into the cave to share his discovery with the others—only to be ridiculed because he can hardly see (his eyes have trouble at first re-adjusting to the darkness). He tried to free the other prisoners but they violently resisted (the other prisoners refuse to be freed and led outside, and they even tried to kill him)”.

16. Answer the following questions: 2. What does this story mean? 3. How does this passage from Plato help you turn your attention toward the right thing (i.e., truth, beauty, justice and goodness)?