The essence of human truth is
correspondence
between
idea and reality;
between knower and known.

 

How do we arrive at knowledge of what is, or truth?

We are born without intellectual knowledge. That which is real reveals itself through the senses, is processed by the mind which arrives at the idea of its essence.

Let us say that you are looking at the reality of blue rock. You see its colors, shapes, size and by touching it you become aware of its hardness and roughness. My judgment tells me that the rock does indeed exist and that it non-living matter. This reveals the essential truth but to grasp this complex reality in detail I must use my intelligence to probe further. I may also expand my knowledge concerning this stone by consulting an expert but this means that I must believe that what he or she is telling me the truth. Although I can easily arrive at essential truth, detailed truth concerning this stone's origin, nature and end is open to error due to my human limitation. Only God in his infinite knowledge can know it totally.

Many truths, however, come to us indirectly by means of associations.

If I state (3+4=7) this truth does not point to any specific reality but to the fact that if I add 4 concrete realities (e.g. oranges) in a bag which already contains (e.g. 3 oranges), they will add up to 7. This is an abstract truth applicable to many things in creation.

Likewise, if I state the fact that NYC is south of Albany, I am affirming the spatial relationship between two real cities. It is a truth of relationship.

Let us say that someone says that he had seen Indian tigers. We may already know the essence of a tiger but now the Indian tiger become present in our consciousness. The reality is not present to our external senses but by means of mental associations (we may have seen one in the zoo, we may a have seen a a photo or a film of Indian Tigers, etc.), we are able to make the reality present in our minds even if only in an essential way.

Art is another kind of truth in which human intelligent utilizes material elements for a purpose. The next page will be devoted to this kind of truth.

4. Scientific Truth