How Do We Know What Is True?

Abstract

What is truth and what are the conditions for its manifestation? We can induce from the evidence of the experience of all human subjects capable of communication and intersubjective behavior that we exist in a world that (1) we share and (2) is accessible to all of us. From this, we can infer that the experience of truth is not merely subjective, but depends upon objective referents to be meaningful. The interplay of subjectivity and objectivity in the meaning-making processes of human subjects is the condition of possibility for truth.

This essay proposes two ways of pursuing truth. One is a scientific project that requires generations of rigorous study and collective building. The other is a simple set of guidelines that can be used day to day by anyone. Both are important. Not everyone will be a professional scientist, but everyone can use simple scientific tools to bring their thinking and actions more in line with truth.

Citation

Smolenski, N. (2021), "How Do We Know What Is True?", Grech, A. (Ed.) Media, Technology and Education in a Post-Truth Society (Digital Activism and Society: Politics, Economy And Culture In Network Communication), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 271-276. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-906-120211019