Are there absolutetruths or is truth relative? A review of the philosophical concept of truth and an extended discussion of the movie, "Rashomon", to see if the question is even understandable.
Abstract This paper investigates the intelligibility of the philosophical understanding of truth as appearance and reality. After reviewing the nature of the philosophical picture of what constitutes truth, there is an extended discussion of an often-cited example of truth's relativity in the movie, "Rashomon". There is then a discussion of some other examples, which attempt to clarify the philosophical picture, only to conclude that the philosophical posing of truth and appearance is actually not yet understandable.
From the Paper "In Theaetetus Socrates quotes Protagoras with what is possibly the first clear statement of the relativist: that "man is the measure of all things" and that anything "is to me such as it appears to me, and is to you such as it appears to you"? (856, 152a) On the other hand, there is Plato's well-known allegory of the cave in the Seventh Book of the Republic, (747- 750, 514a-518b) in which he advances the notion that there is an ultimate truth that lies beyond our interpretations or appearances of that truth. But how understandable are both the notions of relativism and of an absolute truth?"
Abstract In this paper the author looks at all the aspects of truth as we understand it. He identifies truth as something which could be universal and eternal and if it is, he examines whether it should be considered eternal or absolute. The author elaborates on these points and enters a deep discussion of how absolutetruth can be assessed and defined. The author concludes the paper with his belief that truth is relative and therefore it cannot be absolute as absolutetruth is eternal.
From the Paper "One common mistake made by men is to allow ourselves to be led by our senses alone. I believe our senses do not always lead to truth. Senses can be deceiving, especially when relating dreams. In a dream one may feel things or see things, and when that person wakes up has to ponder for a second whether those things were real. Of course, those things experienced in a dream were not real, but for an instant that dreamer believed those things to be true. He was fooled by his senses. Although many will agree that in this case the senses do deceive us, still some will rely solely on their senses to guide them through life."
Abstract The writer states that truth is not obscured by language, but by what truth or truths actually are. The paper discusses whether there can be partial truths, or whether there are only actual truths. The writer then brings different definitions of truth as defined by various philosophers. In summation, the writer states that truth is that which is moral and correct and which does not harm or hinder anyone.
From the Paper "Maybe the best place to start in an investigation of "Truth" is with the ancient Greek philosophers who struggled with the idea, and, in the case of Socrates, had to drink hemlock for it. Plato provides debates and arguments about what he refers to as "unchanging truth". Truth is what you see. "Mere opinions are bad." To go further into Plato's concept of truth, he says "...visible objects can be seen only when the sun shines on them, and truth can be known only when illuminated..." This unchanging truth comes, according to Plato and others like him, from living moral and virtuous lives and having the education to know how to act and how to respond when the Good and the Truth are somehow challenged. This sort of Good and Truth comes, so I read, "within such a society (where) each individual has his or her own naturally established role or function, serving to maintain the stability and unity of the community as a whole." Now, just a minute! Where does this idea of "naturally established" come from? What does it have to do with Truth? Who is the establisher? And, what is "natural" about the Good of the forms that supposedly make it happen? It seems, from reading Plato, that truth is something that just IS. It EXISTS, and no one really has any power over it, except to defy it and tell and live untruths. If what the eye can see is Truth, and opinions are bad, then Truth is a physical, rather than a mental or intellectual phenomenon."
Abstract The paper relates that philosophy has been interpreted and analyzed in various ways by scholars and thinkers. Each of which established the basis of a new theory or developed the guidelines of old ones. The paper discusses the works of Richard Rorty, one of the most appreciated contemporary philosophers, and shows how in his 1989 "Contingency, Irony and Solidarity" he follows in the footsteps of Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil." The paper explains Rorty's theory that philosophy should consist of a more personal experience which must be released from the strains of modern and classical dogmatism. The paper discusses how his beliefs stand against the idea of an absolutetruth, that which is expressed through a common and strict language.
From the Paper "In regard to the own self, Rorty bases his modern society on the "liberal ironist", one that unwilling to accept the surrender to the will of the others, such as Nietzsche's "herd", decides to exercise its will and "reconcile themselves to a private-public split within their final vocabularies, to the fact that resolution of doubts about one's final vocabulary has nothing to do with attempts to save other people from pain and humiliation" (Rorty 120). Here, unlike Nietzsche, Rorty points to his expectations in the liberal society."
Abstract This paper discusses the weakness of Thai absolutism and looks at its rise and fall. The writer looks at the overthrow of Thai absolutism in 1932. The paper includes a narrative historical overview of the history of Thailand from the reign of King Chulalongkorn to the coup overthrowing the monarchy and putting an end to absolutism.
An examination of how absolutism came to be after the Renaissance and how it spread quickly to nation states such as Russia and France, but was tossed out in England.
Abstract This essay deals with all aspects of absolutism; the stormy political climate which incubated it after the Renaissance and then its reign as the most effective form of government in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
From the Paper "Many different kinds of political systems have been used in Europe throughout history. One of the most popular forms during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were absolute monarchies in which monarchs with power and wealth governed nation-states such as Russia and France. The English, however, made attempts to protect individual rights and to limit royal power. There was now friction between the two types of government; with both advantages and disadvantages being found for both."
Tags:absolute, absolutism, despots, england, france, monarchies, monarchs, russia, tyrants
Argues that the Soviet absolutism we see in the Russian leaders of today has its origins in Russian history and is an inherent aspect of Russian society.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 5 sources, 2006, $ 89.95
Abstract This paper argues that Putin's authority in Russia today draws upon the same wellspring of absolutism that fuelled the power and destructiveness of the Red Czar, Stalin. In this analysis, the Soviet absolutism of the 20th century is rooted in Russian traditions that stretch back for centuries under the Czarist empire. In this context the Soviet era desire for a strong absolutist leader who will fix things will be seen to have been a recurring element in Russian society for much of its history.
From the Paper "Today, in the early 21st century, Soviet Russia of the 20th century and the Czarist empire of the centuries before that are shadows of history remembered - if at all - through Cold War spy thrillers and the memories of an older generation of Ukrainians, Russians, and East Europeans whose lives were shaped or destroyed by Soviet power. In the popular view, Russia is a westernized - if corrupt - no different from many authoritarian "democracies" around the world. This essay will argue, however, that this view of Russia is radically flawed."
Abstract This paper presents an account of the historical method used by Nell Painter in "Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol," to convey the substance of the life of Sojourner Truth. It looks at the painter's interactive approach to dealing with issues of race, class and gender oppression as they affected the life and work of Truth. It looks at sources of Truth's social consciousness and activism.
From the Paper "This research argues that Nell Irvin Painter's biography of Sojourner Truth goes far in accomplishing an interactive approach to dealing with issues of race class and gender oppression as they overlapped andc onverged to affect the life and work of the ..."
This paper looks at the loss of certainty in definite truth by characters in 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller and 'The Crying of Lot 49' by Thomas Pynchon.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, 2005, $ 53.95
Abstract In this article, the writer looks at the characters in 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller and 'The Crying of Lot 49' by Thomas Pynchon. The writer discusses how the characters suffer the loss of the certainty in the definite truth of their lives. The writer notes that ultimately, the characters find a truth in their lives; however, it is not the same as the Truth that they each believed in initially. This paper examines the loss of certainty in definite truth in these works, through the context of the influence of the American Dream on their lives.
From the Paper "The characters in both Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and Thomas Pynchon's 'The Crying of Lot 49' suffer the loss of the certainty in the definite truth of their lives. Willy has seen his certainty erode over a lifetime, only to be forced to face the truth that nothing is as it has seemed, or as he wanted it to be, as the play draw to a close. Oedipa, however, is thrust into a situation which turns her world uncertain, and which requires her to look for the truth. Ultimately, both of these characters find a truth in their lives; however, it is not the same as the Truth that they each believed in initially."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of truth-in-sentencing laws governing State prisons and the Violent Offenders Initiative/Truth in Sentencing Program enacted by Congress in 1996. It looks at how these laws are part of the justice system's efforts to reform sentencing.
From the Paper "In three decades there have been five major periods of reform. First was the introduction of indeterminate sentencing which was common in the ..."
Tags:truth-in-sentencing, parole, prison sentence, jail time, early release, VOI/TIS
Abstract The paper looks at the theories of George Lakoff and Rafael Nunez, as well as those of Keith Devlin in order to explore if there are really any universal truths in maths. Set off by an excerpt from Robert Sawyer's novel "Computing God," the paper theorizes that there really are not any universal truths, at least none that can be defined until all forms of life are themselves defined. The paper points out that this is neither the quantification nor the metaphor and symbolism that math requires and uses.
Abstract According to Dewey, the path to truth was a direct consequence of the nature of reality. Dewey believed that all things and events in the world are natural. The paper shows that from this it follows that we can discover truth via the route of scientific investigation. Basically, nature as we experience it in our ordinary lives, or through science, is the ultimate reality, while people are part of nature and are able to find their goals and meaning in the world we see around them.
Abstract This paper examines the critically acclaimed Vietnam War novel of Tim O'Brien's, "The Things They Carried". It explores the literary issues of historical quasi-fiction in the sense that it sees truth not as definitive but as something that changes with the story. The paper describes O"Brien techniques and influences on this novel and the author. The novel is a semi-fictitious piece of work, drawing strongly from the experiences of O"Brien in the war. The paper also notes the tools O?Brien uses to tell his story, particularly the use of various symbols and relics, speaking strongly of a time long gone.
From the Paper "Truth, for the writer, is defined by its creator. Truth, for the reader, is defined by interpretation of the text and the story behind the text. Somewhere in between lies the task of story-telling, that ability of a writer to put his or her experiences, or perhaps his or her imagination onto paper, in the most "truthful" way that he or she knows how. Truth, by a more traditional definition, is defined by facts. Truth, in an authorial sense, lies more in the hands of the reader. Truth no longer lies in fact but in the response of the reader or rather the experience of reading itself. Facts become irrelevant when an author's inventions become the vehicle for truth. Speaking of the art of storytelling, Ernest Hemingway once said that a ?writer's job is tell the truth. His standard of fidelity to the truth should be so high that his inventions should produce a truer account than anything factual can be.? This definition outside of a body of text is a contradiction in terms, but when examining the text, truth lies not in the words but in the response of the reader. A "true story" is not one that is true to the facts, but is one that is true to the story. Because the "truth" is not spelled out for the reader, it is the job of him or her to create the truth in the mind, the heart, and the stomach."
This paper examines why it is that the memorial to women's suffrage in the Library of Congress includes Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott but not Sojourner Truth.
Abstract This essay examines why Sojourner Truth, one of the great American heroes, was excluded in the memorial to women's suffrage, by looking to a much less well known woman who was essentially her contemporary, Harriet Ann Jacobs.
From the Paper ?Jacobs, who (like Frederick Douglass) spun the chaff of her experiences as a woman defined by and oppressed because of her race into an eloquent and uncompromising narrative of the enduring strength of the human spirit and the lure of freedom to those denied it.
Born into slavery, Jacobs still was also taught to read at an early age. After being orphaned, she becoming increasingly close to her maternal grandmother, Molly Horniblow, who had been freed from slavery; their relationship is described in loving detail in her autobiographical Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. The work begins with one of the most compelling opening lines imaginable: ?I was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed away.?
Abstract This paper discusses the many problems with ethical relativisim. The major flaw of the theory, that it fails to recognize that many societies have specific reasons for holding the views it does is examined. The ethical relativist's theory states that an inquiry into the right and wrong must be made through a critical examination of the practices and beliefs of the society and one must look for connections for the underlying universal truths. The author shows why the theory for justifying moral practices and beliefs from an ethical relativist's point of view fails to do so.
From the Paper "It would be only logical to start of any philosophical essay with an explanation of what the paper is to be discussing; in this case, Ethical relativism. The entire process of any Philosophical approach is that of logic. When discussing ethical relativism, there are two rather simple sides to the argument. Although simple, they are none the less extremely important. Ethical relativism is the thesis that ethical principles or judgments are relative to the individual or culture. To many people when stated so vaguely, it is embraced by a large number of people and philosophers alike. However, not only do some Philosophers find this thesis patently false but many people in societies all over the world dismiss this theory as gibberish. Which side if any is correct? Or at bare minimum, partially correct (Timmons, Mark 69)."
