Truth Claims

The designation of true or false do not apply to most statements. For example, if someone were to say "there are parallel universes that we will never know about", this statement cannot be shown to be either true or false. The logical construction of this claim makes it impossible to resolve. Other statements, such as "people are basically good" are equally as unresolvable due to the ambiguity of the word good. In order for a statement to be a truth claim, it must be a claim that can, somehow, be refuted. If there is no way for a claim to be refuted, then it is not a truth claim and it can never achieve the status of truth.

The reason for this is that the body of assertions that we refer to as true are all assertions that could have been show not to be true if indeed they were but after repeated attempts at refutation have continued to hold up. This is the thing that all kinds of truth have in common. Whether we are talking about scientific truth, historical truth, journalistic truth or any of the varieties of truth we may encounter, they all follow a similar pattern. A claim is made that can, potentially, be refuted. We then try to refute it. More people jump into the fray attempting to refute it. As the claim continues to hold up after repeated and sincere attempts to refute it, we begin to believe it and the probability that it is a durable claim increases.

So, the key elements in the discovery of truth are: refutable claims, an agreed upon method for challenging them, and repeated attempts at refutation by people whose only concern is the veracity of the claim. This plays out very differently in different fields. Scientists conduct experiments. However, some sciences such as astronomy don't conduct experiments. Astronomers collect data. Journalists gather facts. Historian have to contend with the historical record. Writers of novels have to square with human experience. In each case a claim is made that must square with evidence according to an accepted method. The question, at this point is, can this approach be applied to moral truths or truths about the future?