Philosophy Now Forum

In logical terms truth can be either the positive proof of a mathematical proposition or the falsification of a scientific hypothesis. This would be
classed as objective truth because it is independent of interpretation. There is also subjective truth which is not independent of interpretation
but entirely dependent on it. It is therefore not as rigorous as objective truth and is determined by emotion rather than logic. One could argue
that subjective truth is an oxymoron but that would depend upon whether the definition of truth is conditional on interpretation or not. I tend
to the negative on this my self given that truth implies that which is absolute and infinite. Although this is a subjective interpretation in it self

One can know some thing one of two ways. Either through experience or knowledge. Experience is subjective interpretation of ones physical
environment through sense perception and psychological evaluation. Knowledge is objective understanding through the referencing of logical
information or data points commonly known as facts

Right and wrong is both a logical and psychological issue. If a logical issue then proof of a mathematical proposition or falsification of a scientific hypothesis determines whether something is right or wrong. If a psychological issue it is totally dependent on the moral code of the individual in
question. There is no absolute definition of what is morally right or wrong for that reason though laws that prohibit particular types of behaviour
for moral reasons are based on popular consensus. Though this correlation is imperfect since not all laws are passed with consensus approval and
being popular does not automatically equate to being right

Evil is a subjective and emotional term. I do not accept that it actually exists. But what does exist is moral choice and some times decisions taken
can be right and sometimes wrong. But evil itself by definition is absolute and no human being is capable of acts which are either absolutely right
or wrong and so I deny that it actually exists

God is real would be a statement of subjective rather than objective truth as there is no way that the existence of a metaphysical being can be
falsified. I know those who believe in God think that he is objectively real but beyond the confines of their own imaginations there is precisely
zero evidence for this. So I do not believe in him myself. One has to look at why ground apes feel compelled to believe in something for which
there is no evidence anyway. It is therefore easier to deny as it is based on a variety of unsound positions namely wishful thinking and logical
fallacies and arguments from both emotion and ignorance

1. What is truth?
Some kind of certainty that people seem to need. Maybe to avoid uncertain choices.

2. How do you know something?
Information comes in via the senses and ends up in the brain after some filtering. It is compared with earlier information and you jump into some kind of conclusion, that you feel is correct to a certain degree.

3. How do you determine right and wrong?
You decide yourself.

4. Why is there so much evil in the world? (If you think there is any)
Don't know. Everything big that just happens is always bad. Everything big-good is always directed by humans. Or maybe we don't recognize the big-goods. Maybe we set up too high standards for "acceptable". Western thinking has been so successful that we have been able to produce lives that are so free of catastrophes, maybe to an un-natural level.

5. Is God real?
Who knows?

>Hi. I'm really interested in answers to general questions about life. I'm sure philosophy forum users are a much more helpful focus group than Walmart shoppers. (Or any other bad place to ask philosophic questions)

Good try, but as snarky as internet users are in general, you should see them when they think they have some truth! "Philosopers" that don't merely deconstruct everything they see rarely take the time to engage with their own works sufficiently to remove logical problems. You'll see.

1. What is truth?

After much round and round about truth, knowledge, really, and so forth, it seems to me that true lies somewhere between knowledge and reality. Knowledge is justified belief. Reality is consensus belief. The word truth could mean either of those things in the common sense, but it is more useful to mean an individual's version of consensus Reality.

2. How do you know something?

Knowledge is justified belief. This requires understanding the value of evidence;

universal taxonomy - evidence by certainty

10 experience qua experience
9 math, logic, Spiritual Math
8 science (rigor)
7 professional consensus (context specific expertise)
6 occupational reality (verified pragmatism)
5 ground truth (consensus reality)
4 experience of (possible delusion)
3 collaborative anecdote (presumes accurate communication motive)
2 adversarial anecdote (presumes inaccurate communication motive)
1 found anecdote (assumed motive)
0 ignorance

3. How do you determine right and wrong?

Everything spiritual (as opposed to material), which includes aesthetics, ethics, and politics, is contingent. This means the decision must account for salience (beyond our control), perspective (can sometimes be shifted), and priority (bespoke but only as useful as they are explicit).

4. Why is there so much evil in the world? (If you think there is any

Good has the unfortunate position of opposing both bad (effects) and evil (intent), causing much consternation. All of which depends on the contingencies in the previous answer - whether a chosen way for the world to be is being violated. If someone does something that accidentally causes bad effects they're not evil. If someone intends to cause bad effects but doesn't, they're still evil. Likewise, if someone intends to cause positive effects and doesn't, they're still good.

Freedom is of two kinds - negative (don't bother me) and positive (opportunity and resources). Likewise evil is off two kinds - trying to cause harm, or wrecklessly/negligently causing harm. Almost no one falls in the first category but almost everyone in the second.

Which means, giving the benefit of the doubt, people are evil because they haven't been taught how to pay attention properly or the destructive potential of externalities, etc. They know enough to understand if they tried to and they know that they should try but somehow still don't. That's the broad answer. The particular answer would of course depend on each individual's psychology.

5. Is God real?

As a concept, yes. As a logically or empirically verifiable thing, no.

[quote="henry quirk" post_id=146393 time=1378923152 user_id=472]
D,

I wasn't commenting on your post(s)...just sayin' Truth seeker might have an agenda other than what he or she says.
[/quote]

A truth-seeker has to have an agenda besides truth because truth isn't useful all by itself. It must be applied toward some chosen end.

1. What is truth?

Fact. A statement corresponding with reality.

yep


2. How do you know something?

I apprehend the world by way of imperfect senses...the imperfect information I apprehend is conducted 'into' me...I 'digest' that information imperfectly...I arrive at a conclusion of 'this' or 'that'.

I become aware of the degree I 'know' by way of how successfully I use the information or experience to navigate the world.

Example: I approach a curb...I assess the curb to be of a certain height...if I assess correctly then I neatly step onto (or off of) the curb...if I assess incorrectly, I bust my ass.

So: how well I 'know' (an aspect of) the curb can be judged by how well I navigate it.

yep


3. How do you determine right and wrong?

What may be 'right' in one circumstance may be 'wrong' in another...right and wrong, then, can be said to be personal preference expressed in a particular circumstance.

nope, wrong, Henry: a man has a compass (a moral sense, a moral intuition, a conscience) always pointin' true north...the trick is abidin' that compass


4. Why is there so much evil in the world? (If you think there is any)

Eye of the beholder: one man's evil is another's 'good'.

nope, wrong, Henry: there is evil and that evil is the direct result of a man not abidin' his compass


5. Is God real?

Nope.

nope, wrong, Henry: God is real

1. What is truth?

What you know is true. Truth is knowledge.

2. How do you know something?

Nobody can tell you this. It has to discovered by way of self-enquiry. The mystics say knowing is fundamental. Nobody else knows how we know things.

3. How do you determine right and wrong?

First you would have to establish there is such a thing.

4. Why is there so much evil in the world? (If you think there is any)

Here's one explanation. For the Perennial view there is no evil or sin.

“Peter said to him, since you have explained everything to us, tell us this also: What is the sin of the world? The Savior said there is no sin, but it is you who make sin when you do the things that are like the nature of adultery, which is called sin. That is why the Good came into your midst, to the essence of every nature, in order to restore it to its root.”

The Gospel According to Mary Magdelene
Chapter 4 25-7

5. Is God real?

For an answer you'd have to define 'God' and 'Real'. If God is defined as the Ultimate then clearly He is real, but whether the Ultimate should be called 'God' is highly debatable.

Keep in mind that although metaphysics appears to be a long list of questions if you answer any one of them you'll have answered the rest. So I'd suggest picking just one question and pursuing it all the way to the end.