MODULE 4:

THE VALUE OF TRUTH

The Nature of Belief; The Nature of Truth and its

Theories; Opinion's Purpose; Knowledge as Justified
True Belief; and Comparision of Knowledge & Wisdom
The Value of Truth_________________
- The critical aspect in doing philosophy is rational inquiry. ;
- Logic, one of the branches of philosophy, is even dedicated to
the discovery of principles for correct reasoning.
- When yyou find an explanation adequate to prove that what
you believe is true.

- When you participate actively in a community of inquiry, how do

you decide when to accept that he answer is better and
defensible than other?

- How many times in the past have you experienced asking,

being given an answer, then doubting whether the answer
given to you is true? Or did you really accept the answer?
The Value of Truth_________________

BELIEF

YOU

BELIEF

TRUTH YOU
The Nature of Belief_________________

- Belief is the acceptence that something is

true-- a firmly held conviction;

- "...to believe is nothing but to think with

assent." - St. Augustine;

- Some philosphers claim that believing as a

propositional attitude is directed toward the
propositions or statements about the object.
The Nature of Belief_________________
- A belief is a mental state
of having some attitude,
stance, take, or opinion
about a proposition or
about the potential state
of affairs in which that
proposition is true.

Structure of Belief:

S believes that P is true.

S = Person
S believes that he has a guardian angel (P). P = Representation
THE NATURE
OF TRUTH
The Nature of Truth________________

WHAT IS
TRUTH?
HOW CAN YOU
DETERMINE
THAT YOUR
BELIEFS ARE
TRUE?
The Correspondence Theory of Truth___
- This theory states that the key to truth is the relation (or
correspondence) between propositions and the world;
- This means that "a belief is true if there exist an appropriate
entity, a fact, to which it corresponds. If there is no entity,
the belief is false.";
- This theory of truth compares the given proposition and the
truth conditions or state of affairs that will make the proposition
true.

Example:
1 There were a time when creatures bigger than man and

animals existed.
2 The Philippines has its own Merlion.
The Correspondence Theory of Truth___

SHOULD
HAVE
EVIDENCES
The Coherence Theory of Truth___
- This theory states that the truth of any (true) proposition
consists in its coherence with some specified set of
propositions (or significant wholes);
- This means that the truth conditions pf a proposition are based
on other propositions (as opposed to the Correspondence
Theory);
- This theory insists that a belief is true if and only if it is part of a
coherent system of beliefs.
- Not a criterion for truth but the nature of truth itself.
- Truth is a matter of how beliefs are related to each other.
The Coherence Theory of Truth___

1 + 1 = 0, carry 1 BINARY SYSTEM

1+1=2 ARITHMETIC
The Pragmatic Theory of Truth___
- This theory holds that a proposition is true if it is
useful to believe (it). Thus, utility is the essential
mark of truth.

- Truth is arrived at based on the beliefs that lead to

the best "pay off", that give the ultimate benefit or
advantage that promote success.

- Philosophers who subscribe to the pragmatic

criterion consider truth as what is expedient.
The Pragmatic Theory of Truth___

MAKAKA-GRADUATE
AKO NG SENIOR
HIGH SCHOOL.

MAGIGING
SUCCESSFUL AKO.

- Under this theory of truth, the given proposition is true if it leads

to success, that is, of it is expedient for the person to believe that
his/her dreams will come true with visualization.
Shortcomings of the Theories of Truth

1. Correspondence Theory
- criticized in its limitation to give predictions of the
characteristic of being a proposition due to the
indeterminate state of affairs it refers.

Example:
The sun will rise tomorrow.
Shortcomings of the Theories of Truth

2. The Coherence Theory

- criticized for its vulnerability that clarifies the notion
of consistency.
- We cannot determine if a given proposition is true
in our notion or false in other notions.

3. Pragmatic Theory
- Implies the relativity of truth
- What is useful to one person might not be useful to
another.
 TO BE
CONTINUED.
 TO BE
CONTINUED.

READY?
Opinion's Purpose__________________
- Opinio a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on
proof or certainty;
- "We have the obligation to withhold assent from all proposition
whose truth we cannot clearly and distinclty perceive." - Rene
Descartes;
- We are obliged to have some sort of evidence before giving our
assent;
- Though we cannot have certain demonstration of everything,
we must still take sides, and in matters of custom, embrace
the opinion that seem the most probable, so that we may
never be irresolute when we need to act.
- If truth cannot be achieved, prudence is exercised through
having an opinion.
Cognition According to Plato_________
- Cognition is the psychological result of perception and
learning and reasoning
- In the Republic, Plato distinguished between opinion (doxa)
and intellect regarding the visible realm of sensible objects;
- Under opinion and intellect, Plato discussed four distinct
segment of cognition;
1. Imaging (Eikasia)
2. Belief (Pistis)
3. Thought (Dianoia)
4. Knowledge (Noesis)
- Imaging (Eikasisa) or conjecture refers to the pictures and
other images in the lowest level of reality. This segment is the
appropriate degree of awareness, although it provides only the
most primitive and unreliable opinions;
Cognition According to Plato_________
- Belief (Pistis) is based on perception of ordinary physical
objects. Plato believes that this is the most accurate possible
conception of man to the nature and relationship of temporal
things;
- Thought (Dianoia) is in the intelligible realm and a step higher
than belief. Directed towards simple form of shapes, numbers,
and other mathematical entities;
- Knowledge (Noesis) is the highest level of all segments.
Based on more significant forms--true equality, beauty, truth,
and good. These permanent objects of knowledge are directly
apprehended by the intellect, which is the fundamental
capacity of human reason to comprehend the true nature of
reality.
Cognition According to Plato_________
World of the Forms World of Appearance
Intelligible Realm Visible Realm
OPINION (doxa)

A B C D
KNOWLEDGE THOUGHT BELIEF IMAGING
Noesis Dianoia Pistis Eikasia

PURE IDEAS SOME IDEAS OBJECTS IMAGES

Forms & Mathematical Physical Shadows

Philosophy Science Bodies Reflections
(Being and Goodness, (Shapes, (Natural Sciences) (Poetry, Fine
Hypothesis, Reason) Geometry, etc.) Arts, Fiction)

THE DIVIDED LINE

Cognition According to Plato_________
A B C D
KNOWLEDGE THOUGHT BELIEF IMAGING
Noesis Dianoia Pistis Eikasia

IDEAS which are given

existence and truth by
good itself.

THE DIVIDED LINE

Knowledge: Justified True Belief_____
- In 1963, Edmund Gettier, an American philosopher, wrote an
essay refuting the traditional analysis of knowledge or its
definition as a "justified true belief" (JTB). He gave a
counterexample to the conception that knowledge is structured
as follows:
S knows that P is (if and only if)
- P is true;
- S believes in P;
- S is justified in believing that P is true.

S is the subject
P is the Representation or Proposition/ Idea
Knowledge: Justified True Belief_____
Subject KNOWS Prosposition
IF AND ONLY IF

P is TRUE S is JUSTIFIED
Knowledge latches
onto truths
S BELIEVES P
Full belief is necessary
A hunch is not enough
 Knowledge: Justified True Belief_____
The Gettier Problem:
Oo, Pre!

Pre, diba
sheep yun?

James believes that the animal is a sheep.

Smith justified Jame's claim.
James' belief is justified as true.
Knowledge: Justified True Belief_____
The Gettier Problem:
But the animal is not a sheep at all but a white
poodle.

Akala ko
din e.

But unknown to James and Smith,

there is actually a sheep hiding
Sabi mo somewhere behind the tall grass.
Sheep yun!
Knowledge: Justified True Belief_____
- James's first claim was justified as true since it was agreed
upon by Smith whom had seen the animal as well even though
it was a case of misidentification.

Now, is knowledge a Justified True Belief?

- James's belief that there is a sheep in the field turns out to be

correct since there was actually a sheep hiding somewhere
unseen by them which is considered as true. But is James'
JTB a knowledge?
- Gettier says No. This is because James had no way of
knowing that the sheep was actually there, it was just luck.
According to Gettier, based on the situation given, not all
Justified True Beliefs are Knowledge.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING