Abstract
This is a personal paper about belief in absolute truth, emphasizing the difference between absolute and relative notions of truth.

From the Paper
"Noting that metaphysics is the philosophical study of the nature of reality, Blackburn states that a key question in metaphysics is whether reality contains any absolute truths. The phrase 'absolute truth' is said to refer to an unalterable, unchanging and permanent fact. An absolute truth is valid in all times and in all spaces. Absolute truth can be contrasted with a relativistic idea of truth in which truth is viewed as something that is relative to the individual or individuals believing it. In other words..."

Tags:metaphysics, absolute truth, relativism

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?"

Tags:rashomon, relativity, 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 absolute truth can be assessed and defined. The author concludes the paper with his belief that truth is relative and therefore it cannot be absolute as absolute truth 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."

Tags:choices, meaning, universal, existential, deception, perception

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 absolute truth, 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."

Tags:contingency, irony, solidarity, good, evil

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."

Tags:plato, cervantes, absolute, aquinas

Abstract
The paper discusses how many nursing dilemmas can be resolved by realizing that the obligations of veracity are never absolute and inflexible. The paper relates that utilitarianism cannot address this dilemma, but there is another pathway that provides a satisfactory solution. The writer then relates that he works in mental health care in the area of forensic nursing where patients are linked to the justice system.

From the Paper
'Truth telling can present a complex dilemma for nurses. Many dilemmas - including the following - can be resolved by realizing that the obligations of veracity are never absolute and inflexible. Utilitarianism cannot address this dilemma but there is another pathway that provides a satisfactory solution. I work in mental health care in the area of forensic nursing where patients are linked to the justice system. Our work involves assessment and treatment of patients who are not only mentally disordered but whose behavior has either resulted in a criminal offense or could lead to such..."

Tags:patient, truth, harm

Abstract
In this essay, I will discuss the question of mathematical truth and attempt to decide whether there can be such a thing as an "absolute fact."

Abstract
This paper explains how truth often takes a different form. The paper points out the conflict that arises within philosophical, scientific, and religious thought when defining truth and how different viewpoints, perceptions, and outlook, all have an influence on what one perceives as the truth.

From the Paper
"In order to recognize the entire truth, someone's lithe viewpoint ought to transform to visualize the complete as unity of diversity. The chief component is a unanimity corresponding to the trivial, exhaustive component of multiplicity. An incomplete relative truth differs; whereas the complete absolute truth does not change. To visualize the entire viewpoint of truth, one has to be a resurgent person, who can perform harmonizing alterations in his broad-medium-narrow array of viewpoints. This renders the resurgent person to be proficient in theology-philosophy-science, or in spiritual-rational-sensual truths, which are instinctive-logical-empirical."

Tags:entire, relative, complete, absolute, theology, philosophy, science, logical, empirical

Abstract
This paper describes philosopher Renee Descartes method of thinking, doubting and questioning, which led him to the beliefs that he felt he would be a secure foundation representing absolute truth.

From the Paper
"Descartes began by noticing that when his viewing conditions were poor, it was easy for his senses to misguide him (Harvard College, 2002). For example, if his conditions were subject to poor lighting or objects were too far away to see properly, his senses were dim.
That gave Descartes a reason to doubt many of his sensory beliefs, ones he developed when the viewing conditions are poor. However, it is not enough of a reason to doubt all of his sensory beliefs. Perhaps his other sensory beliefs are good and can be trusted, he observed."

Tags:accepted, false, influenced, questionable, senses, challenge, sensory, doubt, misguide

Abstract
This paper explains that, by varying his use of language, by critiquing the desire for one version of reality and by showing the unity that speech brings about in his "Haroun and the Sea of Stories", Rushdie establishes story-telling as a means to represent the different realities in the world and undermines the authenticity of facts, suggesting the impossibility of absolute truth. The author points out that the heavy presence in the novel of foreign language globalizes the tale: Many names in the novel are actually Hindustani words whose meaning reveals a second degree to the character, "Khattam-Shud", for example, which means "completely finished" or "Kosh-Mar" which phonetically resembles cauchemar, the French word for "nightmare" as well as Kashmir, the site of conflict between India and Pakistan. The paper relates that "Haroun" can be read on two levels, as a fanciful children's folktale or a post-modernist comment on the importance of fiction, providing two ways of seeing the work.

From the Paper
""Haroun" is a truly worldly book for, though written in English, it incorporates different dialects and even different languages into the text. The novel draws upon Indian, American, and British idioms and speech, creating a hodgepodge of English that animates the characters' dialogue. Snooty Buttoo speaks Indian English when he says, "you will please to provide up-beat sagas only,"(49) whereas Iff uses American idioms, saying "no can do" and "no way, Jose"(59). The different dialects do more than give character depth, however, for they remind us of the number of English dialects, no one of which can properly claim correctness. In "Haroun", English avoids being strictly defined, allowing a richness of language diversity that can serve as a model for story-telling: by embracing different versions (in this case, of English) one enriches the work and provides a more authentic portrayal of a wide-ranging language."

Tags:dialects, realities, globalizes, folktale, post-modernist