Truth Position Paper

Jocelyn Griffin
Mr. Lindow
British Literature
April 26, 2015

Truth is never a given, it is something you must define for yourself. You
will always have a certain position of what truth is that is unique to you
because of your world view. However through Philosophers who seek to
define truth for themselves, your own view, and through the Bible which
defines truth for all, a dependable truth can be found.
The three philosophers I reviewed, Fred Dretske, Alfred Tarski, and
Bertrand Russell; all had unique ideas of what truth is and how it can be
defined. Through their work I learned that truth is very much in the eye of
the beholder. We can only glean truth from our senses and what we have
learned therefore it is hard to know if our truth is really true (Dtretske). This
is a problem because if we never know if something is true based on our own
abilities, then truth is even harder to define. However another philosopher
argues that truth is able to be found through its consistency with our view of
reality (Tarski). Therefore if what we see with our senses matches up with our
learning then it is very probable that what we see is true to itself. Another
common point among the philosophers was that truth is often not just what
we are able to know with our senses or what we have learned. Often one
truth leads to a further truth. I may know that Mary is engaged to Billy but
still not know that their wedding is set to be July 23. Because of this truth
cannot be taken at surface value, but investigation is required if one really
desires to know whether it really is truth or not or if there is to a further truth
to be found. As a result of this, belief is a necessary part of truth. We must
rely on our own judgement and trust it to be correct. Our world is not made

up of fact if so truth would not be necessary, thus faith is vital in our

perception of reality (Russell). I favor this perception of truth because it ties
in so deeply with spiritual truth. Faith is needed in all parts of life, whether it
be physical reality or spiritual reality.
While the philosophers focused on our need for physical truth, the
Bible satisfies our need for spiritual truth. According to what Ive seen in
scripture, the Bible defines truth in two ways; as a sort of calling, almost an
action, as well as the truth of Jesus being the Savior of the world. The first
truth is something God commands of us in the Bible. It is something we must
do - truthfulness must be a part of us. I would interpret this to mean that we
must stay honest to ourselves and to what we believe God is calling us to do.
It is necessary for us to stay connected to the roots of who we are and to act
in and share the truth of ourselves in everything we do. The Lord is near to
all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalms 145:18 (ESV). The
truth we use to call on the Lord is the truth that he is our God and we are his
children and that it is our duty to spread the truth of this to the world. The
latter truth of Jesus being the Savior of the world is the main truth of the
Bible. It defines the purpose of our existence to be saved by the Son of God
and live forever with him. Therefore this truth is the most important truth of
all. Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me John 14:6 (ESV). By believing that
Jesus saved us and that he is the Son of God, Jesus gives us a path to

achieve what we were created for the chance to be forever Gods child;
creating, sharing joy and love in all we do.
This spiritual side of truth has been a huge influence in my life. Being
raised a strong Christian; I believe the only dependable truth comes from the
Bible. However as to the physical aspect of truth I agreed with Bertrand
Russell in that truth must agree with our perception of reality and have an
opposite, a falsehood rather, to make it true (Russell). Further still, I believe
truth must agree with its nature or character to be true. A true friend will be
themselves around you, Jesus was Gods true Son because he had his
character and his actions agreed with what the Bible taught. I also believe
truth must come from something. One cannot automatically perceive
something as true; you must have background with it, proof that it is what
you believe it is. I know my parents love for me is true because I have all
evidence of their caring for me and protecting me. You have to trust truth; it
is all in your strength of faith. I have faith that my sisters favorite animal is a
pig. I trust that this is her opinion, but I cant know for sure therefore faith
is necessary.
Truth isnt straightforward; it is a mess of what you think, proof and
faith, but I think that is why we humans need it so much. We have to work to
get to the heart of truth and because of this, what we find is so much more
valuable to us. True love has more meaning than love alone, and for a good
reason. Its rare and you have to work for it. That is why simple truths such

as this pencil is really a pencil doesnt satisfy us. We as humans long to find
the purpose of truth; philosophers work for years just to find a way to define
truth. I think the Bible is the only thing that defines truth in a way that can
satisfy our thirst. It gives us the reason for our existence and the truth of
Gods love for us, a truth that gives its proof every day.

Works Cited
Dtretske, Fred I. "Epistimic Operators." Journal of Philosophy, Inc. 67.24 (1970):
1007-023. JSTR. JSTR, 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2007. Print.
Russell, Bertrand. "Truth and Falsehood." The Problems of Philosophy. New York:
Oxford UP, 1959. N. pag. Print.
Tarski, Alfred. "The Semantic Conception of Truth and the Foundation of
Semantics." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (1944): 34176. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. UNLV, 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.