Position Paper

What is Truth?
Tru. Authentic. Verity. Certainty. Legitimacy. Fact. At most, a sketchy topic.
Each person has a different opinion on the subject, and each person finds a different truth
in every circumstance. A great number of people believe that the word truth is a term that
encompasses only proven, undisputable fact. This kind of truth applies to court cases and
unbiased news. Another view of truth is the idea that everyone finds their own individual
truth from a circumstance. Opposite of the spectrum is the idea that truth does not exist
because you cannot assume one case true without first proving another (spiraling into
oblivion if there is no constant truth). In spite of all these, there is one certainty.
Consider the definition of the word truth: the true or actual state of a matter
(Truth). Thats all fine, most philosophers would probably agree with that statement. But
then the next definitions start to spark philosophical conversations: conformity with fact or
reality, a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like, the state or
character of being true and actuality or actual existence (Truth).
Conformity with fact or reality (Truth). Well thats fine too, but who gets to decide
what fact is or what reality is? Havent we all heard statements such as Theyre in their own
little world or Its just your imagination? Yet these circumstances can seem very real- real
enough that some people cant tell where reality ends and fantasy begins. Fact: something
known to exist or to have happened, something that actually exists; reality; truth (Fact).
Do you see the problem? In the English Language, there are only so many words that can
represent the notion of truth. Soon, they begin to define one another, and it becomes
difficult to understand the complex theory of truth.
A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like (Truth). This
definition is used by the lawyers and justices. Things must be extremely clear cut to be
considered true. One could say Today I went to eat lunch with two of my friends and my
sibling. One could verify this by asking the friends and the sibling if this was true. In the
end, however, all four could be lying. Whos to say what exactly is indisputable? The grass is

green. A sort of obvious statement, yes? Not if you are colourblind. A person with Tritanopia
cannot see the yellows in a colour spectrum. Green grass? Try blue, or maybe even a violet
(Tritanopia). Even the colours cannot be indisputable. Green lightno, Im sure its blue for
go! Other kinds of colourblindness tamper with the facts of life that most other people can
agree on.
The state or character of being true (Truth). Using an adjective from the same root
to describe a noun can be quite confusing. Once again we are left with the question: Who
defines what is true? Actuality or actual existence (Truth). Without knowing what the one
proven constant is, how can we determine what is actual, or what existence is? A
philosopher, Jonathan Bennett, said: Let P be the great proposition stating the whole
contingent truth about the actual world, down to its finest detail, in respect of all times.
Then the question 'Why is it the case that P?' cannot be answered in a satisfying way. Any
purported answer must have the form 'P is the case because Q is the case'; but if Q is only
contingently the case then it is a conjunct in P, and the offered explanation doesn't explain;
and if Q is necessarily the case then the explanation, if it is cogent, implies that P is
necessary also. But if P is necessary then the universe had to be exactly as it is, down to the
tiniest detail -- i.e., this is the only possible world. (Maverick Philosopher). What he means is
that we cannot prove anything. Existence is all improvable fact. We cannot say one thing is
true without first assuming another idea is true. The cycle spirals on and on forever. One
cannot say Mike has brown hair without first assuming that Mike is a person and that Mike
has hair at all or that one knows who Mike is or what Mike looks like. Then we also have to
assume that Mike is real and that the person who knows Mike is real and so on and so on
forever and ever. In the end, we cannot prove anything without knowing the first, real, initial
truth.
God. Jesus Christ says I am the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6). This is the
first and only truth. The Trinity is the first and only thing in existence. We believe every one
of his words to be true because he proclaims them to be the truth. While we ourselves
cannot prove it, we can believe it. We can trust in his truth because it meets all the

definitions. God created truth, God controls truth, God is truth. He is the one constant, the
thing that can never be disproven, the only fact we can trust as actually real. The Trinity, the
creator of the entire universe, is the very center of the word truth. How can we prove Mike
has brown hair? By proving he is real. How do we prove he is real? By proving God created
him. How can we prove this- we cannot. We can only trust that God created him because He
said He did. God has created everyone and everything, and is therefore the one and only
constant in our spiral of proving assumptions.

Works Cited
"Fact." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 11 May 2013.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fact?s=t>.
John. Biblos. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://niv.scripturetext.com/john/14.htm>.
"Jonathan Bennett's Argument Against Explanatory Rationalism." 'Maverick Philosopher' N.p.,
n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.
<http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2009/01/jonathanbennetts-argument-against-explanatory-rationalism.html>.
"Tritanopia Blue-Yellow Color Blindness." Tritanopia Blue-Yellow Color Blindness. N.p., n.d.
Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.color-blindness.com/2006/05/08/tritanopia-blueyellow-color-blindness/>.
"Truth." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 11 May 2013.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/truth?s=t>.