Signs of absolute truth. True

Cognition, truth and its criteria.

Option 1

Cognition- this is a process of human activity, the main content of which is the reflection of objective reality in his mind, and the result is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world around him.

Types of knowledge:

Ordinary

• philosophical

  artistic

  Social

In the learning process involved:

Subject of knowledge- this is a knowing person, endowed with will and consciousness; the whole society.

Object of knowledge is a cognizable object; the whole world around.

Stages of knowledge:

sensuous(sensitive ) knowledge. A person receives information through the senses.

1.1 Feeling- reflection of individual properties and qualities of objects of the surrounding world that directly affect the senses;

1.2 Perception- the formation of a holistic image, with the help of objects and their properties that directly affect the senses;

1.3 Performance- such a form of cognition in which the sensory reflection (sensory image) of objects and phenomena is stored in the mind, which allows you to reproduce it mentally even if it is absent and does not affect the organs.

2. rational cognition(through thinking)

2.1 concept is a form (kind) of thought that reflects the general and essential features of cognizable objects or phenomena.

2.2 Judgment - there is a form of thought in which a connection is established between separate concepts and with the help of this connection something is affirmed or denied.

2.3 Inference called obtaining new judgments on the basis of existing ones by using the laws of logical thinking.

The essence of the process of cognition is to obtain the most objective, complete and accurate knowledge about the surrounding world. Different schools of philosophy gave different answers to the question of the possibility of knowing the world and obtaining true knowledge. Agnoses believed that it was impossible to obtain reliable knowledge , empiricists- that this can be done only with the help of sensations, and rationalists argued that the criterion of truth is only reason.

True- this is the correspondence of the acquired knowledge to the content of the object of knowledge.

The hallmark of truth is:

objective side shows us the truth in that part of it, the content of which does not depend on us, since it exists in objective reality.

Subjective side points to the fact that in its form the truth is always subjective, since when it is received in the process of cognition, the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition takes place, in which the consciousness of the latter takes a direct part

True:

Absolute Truth is a complete, unchanging, once and for all established knowledge about any object or phenomenon.

Relative truth - is an incomplete, limited knowledge, true only in certain conditions, which a person (humanity) possesses at a given stage of his development.

driving force process of cognition, as well as the criterion of truth is practice. In addition to practice, there are and other criteria of truth, in particular formal - logical , which is used when there is no way to rely on practice

Option 2

To orient a person in the surrounding world, to interpret and predict events, to plan and implement the activities of groups of people, to develop new scientific ideas, knowledge is needed. Knowledge is a complex dynamic system, it reflects the cultural experience and information potential of mankind, which is formed in the process of cognition.

Distinguish between sensory and rational cognition. Sensual knowledge of the world by a person is carried out through sensation, perception and representation. Rational knowledge (the process of thinking) involves the production of concepts, judgments, conclusions through such mental operations as comparison, assimilation, generalization, abstraction.

The question of the priority of one or another species in the knowledge of the world remains open. Philosophers who give preference to sensory knowledge, believing that it is the main and even the only source of our knowledge, are called empiricists. The opposite point of view is defended by rationalists.

At present, the thesis about the unity, interdependence and interdependence of sensory cognition (empirical experience) and conceptual, rational-logical thinking prevails in philosophy. Philosophers refuse to consider "sensibility" and "rationality" as some absolutely independent, isolated functions of a cognizing person, believing that in real cognition they are in continuous interaction. The knowledge acquired by a person in the process of cognizing the surrounding reality must be in a certain correspondence with this reality, reality. Such a problem of the correspondence of knowledge to objective reality appears in philosophy as the problem of truth. Thus, the question of what is truth is essentially a question related to establishing and verifying the correspondence of knowledge to objective reality.

In the history of philosophy, various approaches have been expressed to the selection of criteria for truth. From Plato's point of view, only knowledge of eternal and unchanging ideas can be true. F. Bacon believed that truth is the daughter of time. T. Hobbes proposed a formula: truth is the daughter of reason. Dialectical materialism regards practice as the criterion of truth.

The content of our ideas and knowledge, which does not depend on either man or mankind, is called objective truth. The form of expression of objective truth, which depends on specific historical conditions, characterizing the degree of its accuracy, rigor and completeness, which is achieved at a given level of knowledge, is called relative truth. Perfect, complete, accurate, comprehensive and exhaustive knowledge about any phenomenon or object is called absolute truth.

Option 3

Cognition can be defined as a process of human activity, the main content of which is the reflection of objective reality in his mind, and the result is the acquisition of new knowledge about the world around him. Scientists distinguish the following types of knowledge: everyday, scientific, philosophical, artistic, social. None of these types of cognitive activity is isolated from the others, they are all closely interconnected. In the process of cognition, there are always two sides: the subject of cognition and the object of cognition. In a narrow sense, the subject of cognition usually means a cognizing person endowed with will and consciousness, in a broad sense - the whole society. The object of cognition, respectively, is either a cognizable object, or, in a broad sense, the entire surrounding world within the boundaries in which individuals and society as a whole interact with it. There are two stages of cognitive activity. At the first stage, which is called sensual (sensitive) cognition (from German sensitw - perceived by the senses), a person receives information about objects and phenomena of the surrounding world with the help of the senses. The three main forms of sensory cognition are: a) sensation, which is a reflection of individual properties and qualities of objects in the surrounding world that directly affect the senses; b) perception, during which a holistic image is formed in the subject of cognition, reflecting objects and their properties that directly affect the senses; c) representation - such a form of cognition in which the sensory reflection (sensory image) of objects and phenomena is preserved in the mind, which allows it to be reproduced mentally even if it is absent and does not affect the senses. The second stage of cognitive activity is rational knowledge (from Latin ratio - mind). At this stage, relying on the data obtained as a result of the direct interaction of a person with the surrounding worldsm, with the help of thinking, their ordering is carried out and an attempt is made to comprehend the essence of cognizable objects and phenomena. Rational knowledge is carried out in the form of concepts, judgments and conclusions. The concept is a form (kind) of thought that reflects the general and essential features of cognizable objects or phenomena. Judgment is a form of thought in which a connection is established between separate concepts and with the help of this connection something is affirmed or denied. Inference is called obtaining new judgments on the basis of existing ones by using the laws of logical thinking. Rational cognition is closely connected with the reflected reality, that is, with sensory cognition, which serves as the basis for it. However, unlike sensory cognition, which exists in the form of images, the results of rational cognition are fixed in the form of signs or in language. Thus, human thinking, based on sensory experience, by means of comparison, assimilation, generalization, abstraction, transforms the sensory image, and fixes the results of the transformation in sign form. The essence of the process of cognition is to obtain the most objective, complete and accurate knowledge about the surrounding world. Different schools of philosophy gave different answers to the question of the possibility of knowing the world and obtaining true knowledge. Agnostics believed that it was impossible to obtain reliable knowledge, empiricists - that this can be done only with the help of sensations, and rationalists argued that only reason is the criterion of truth. In the history of philosophy, there have been various definitions of the concept of "truth". The most frequently used is the following: truth is the correspondence of the acquired knowledge to the content of the object of knowledge. A characteristic feature of truth is the presence of an objective and subjective side in it. The objective side shows us the truth in that part of it, the content of which does not depend on us, since it exists in objective reality. The subjective side points to the fact that in its form the truth is always subjective, since when it is received in the process of cognition, the interaction of the object and the subject of cognition takes place, in which the consciousness of the latter takes a direct part. It is customary to single out absolute truth and relative truth. Absolute truth is called complete, unchanging, once and for all established knowledge about any subject or phenomenon. However, in reality, this is practically unattainable. In most cases, we are dealing with relative truth (or truths), which is incomplete, limited knowledge, true only under certain conditions, which a person (humanity) possesses at a given stage of its development. The driving force of the process of cognition, as well as the criterion of truth, is practice. Moreover, this or that type of cognition has as a criterion of truth the form of practice corresponding to it: everyday practice, observation, experiment, etc. opportunities to rely on practice (for example, identifying logical contradictions in mathematical reasoning).

In philosophy, there are several basic concepts, among which it is worth highlighting, first of all, the definitions of the absolute itself, as well as the relative. Turning to dictionaries and reference books, we can single out the most capacious definition, which is the following concept: truth is a proven statement that is accepted as true; compliance with reality. What are examples of relative truth?

What is truth

This is primarily a process that is characterized by the perception or awareness of an object or phenomenon to the full extent. Some people tend to argue that it does not exist in principle - there is only the surrounding reality, objects, views, judgments or phenomena. Nevertheless, it is one, but in its environment some key aspects can be distinguished:

• Relative.
• Objective.
• Absolute.

Of course, the development of any science involves the achievement of an absolute ideal, the truth, but this is unlikely, since each new discovery provokes even more questions and disputes. Thus, for example, a statement like "gold is a metal" is true only if gold is indeed a metal.

What is absolute truth

To begin with, it is worth defining the concept of objective truth, which is expressed as follows - the understanding and perception of knowledge, which does not depend on any particular person, group of people, civilization and society. What is the main difference between absolute truth and relative or objective truth?

Absolute is:

• Exhaustive, fully verified, knowledge about a person, object, object or phenomenon that cannot be refuted in any way.
• Adequate and conscious reproduction by the subject of a certain object, representation of the subject as it actually exists, regardless of the opinion of the person and his consciousness.
• The definition of the infinity of our knowledge, a kind of limit towards which all mankind aspires.

Many argue that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Proponents of this view are inclined to believe that everything is relative, as such, there simply cannot be actual reality. Nevertheless, some examples of absolute truth can be given: scientific laws or the facts of the birth of people.

What is Relative Truth

Examples of relative truth eloquently characterize the definition of the concept itself. So, in ancient times, people believed that the atom is indivisible, in the 20th century, scientists were inclined to believe that the atom consists of electrons, and now researchers know for sure that the atom consists of a huge number of tiny particles and their number is constantly increasing. All create an eloquent idea of ​​the relativity of the real.

Based on this, we can draw conclusions about what actually represents relative truth:

• This is knowledge (definition), which fully corresponds to a certain level of human development, but differs by not entirely verified facts or evidence.
• The designation of the boundary or final moments of human cognition of the world, the proximity of knowledge about the surrounding reality.
• A statement or knowledge that depends on certain conditions (time, historical events, place, and other circumstances).

Relative Truth Examples

Does absolute truth have a right to exist? To answer this question, consider a very simple example. So, the expression "the planet Earth has the shape of a geoid" can be quite attributed to statements from the category of absolute truth. After all, our planet actually has such a shape. The question is different - is this expression knowledge? Can this statement give an unknowing person an idea of ​​the shape of the planet? Most likely not. It is much more effective to imagine the Earth in the form of a ball or an ellipsoid. Thus, examples of relative truth allow us to identify the main criteria and characteristics of the most important components of philosophical concepts.

Criteria

How to distinguish absolute or relative truth from error or fiction.

Respond to the laws of logic? What is the determining factor? For these purposes, there are special concepts that allow you to determine the plausibility of a particular statement. So, the criterion of truth is that which allows you to certify the truth, to distinguish it from error, to reveal where the truth is and where the fiction is. Criteria are internal and external. What requirements must they meet?

• Express in a simple and concise manner.
• Comply with fundamental laws.
• be applicable in practice.
• comply with scientific laws.

First of all, it is practice - human activity aimed at transforming the surrounding reality.

The modern concept and its key aspects

Absolute, relative, objective truth are concepts that have clear differences from each other. In the modern definition of truth, scientists invest the following aspects: spiritual and subjective reality, the result of cognition, as well as truth as a cognitive process.

The specificity of truth deserves special attention - it cannot be abstract. Truth is always related to some time and place. the pursuit of the ideal and the search for truth will always excite philosophers and scientists. Humanity should strive for knowledge and improvement.

Social science. Full course of preparation for the Unified State Examination Shemakhanova Irina Albertovna

1.4. The concept of truth, its criteria

Epistemology - a philosophical science that studies the problems of the nature of knowledge and its possibilities. Agnosticism- a philosophical doctrine that denies, in whole or in part, the possibility of knowing the world. Gnosticism- a philosophical doctrine that recognizes the possibility of knowing the world.

Cognition- 1) the process of comprehending reality, accumulating and comprehending data obtained in the experience of human interaction with the outside world; 2) the process of active reflection and reproduction of reality in the human mind, the result of which is new knowledge about the world.

Subject of knowledge- the carrier of object-practical activity and cognition (an individual or a social group), a source of activity directed at an object; creative principle active in cognition.

Object of knowledge- that which opposes the subject in his cognitive activity. The subject itself can also act as an object (man is the object of study of many sciences: biology, medicine, psychology, sociology, philosophy, etc.).

Hierarchy of human cognitive abilities (Plato, Aristotle, I. Kant): a) sense cognition- is basic, all our knowledge begins with it; b) rational knowledge- carried out with the help of reason, able to establish, discover objective relationships (causal) between phenomena, the laws of nature; in) knowledge based on the ideas of reason- sets worldview principles.

Empiricism- a direction in the theory of knowledge, recognizing sensory experience as the only source of reliable knowledge (was formed in the XVII-XVIII centuries - R. Bacon, T. Hobbes, D. Locke).

Sensationalism - a direction in the theory of knowledge, according to which sensations and perceptions are the basis and main form of reliable knowledge.

Rationalism - a philosophical direction that recognizes the mind as the basis of knowledge and behavior of people ( R. Descartes, B. Spinoza, G. W. Leibniz).

Forms (sources, steps) of knowledge:

1. Sensory (empirical) knowledge- cognition through the senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch). Features of sensory cognition: immediacy; visibility and objectivity; reproduction of external properties and sides.

Forms of sensory cognition: sensation (reflection of individual properties of an object, phenomenon, process resulting from their direct impact on the sense organs); perception (a sensual image of a holistic picture of an object, process, phenomenon that directly affects the senses); representation (a sensual image of objects and phenomena, stored in the mind without their direct impact on the senses. Through the language, the representation is translated into an abstract concept.

2. Rational, logical knowledge(thinking). Features of rational cognition: reliance on the results of sensory cognition; abstractness and generalization; reproduction of internal regular connections and relationships.

Forms of rational knowledge: a) a concept (the unity of essential properties, connections and relations of objects or phenomena reflected in thinking); b) judgment (a form of thinking in which something is affirmed or denied about an object, its properties or relations between objects); c) inference (a reasoning in the course of which a new judgment is derived from one or more judgments, called a conclusion, conclusion or consequence). Types of inferences: deductive (the way of thinking from the general to the particular, from the general position to the special), inductive (the way of reasoning from particular provisions to general conclusions), traductive (by analogy).

Sensual and rational cognition cannot be opposed, absolutized, since they complement each other. Hypotheses are created with the help of imagination. The presence of imagination allows a person to exercise creativity.

scientific knowledge- a special type of cognitive activity aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about nature, man and society. Features of scientific knowledge: objectivity; development of the conceptual apparatus; rationality (conclusiveness, consistency); verifiability; high level of generalization; universality (explores any phenomenon from the side of patterns and causes); the use of special methods and methods of cognitive activity.

* Levels of scientific knowledge: one). Empirical. Methods of empirical knowledge: observation, description, measurement, comparison, experiment; 2). Theoretical. Methods of the theoretical level of knowledge: idealization (the method of scientific knowledge, in which the replacement of individual properties of the object under study with symbols or signs), formalization; mathematization; generalization; modeling.

* Forms of scientific knowledge: scientific fact (reflection of an objective fact in human consciousness); empirical law (objective, essential, concrete-universal, recurring stable connection between phenomena and processes); question; problem (conscious formulation of questions - theoretical and practical); hypothesis (scientific assumption); theory (initial foundations, an idealized object, logic and methodology, a set of laws and statements); concept (a certain way of understanding (interpreting) an object, phenomenon or process; the main point of view on the subject; a guiding idea for their systematic coverage).

* Universal methods of scientific knowledge: analysis; synthesis; deduction; induction; analogy; modeling (reproduction of the characteristics of one object on another object (model), specially created for their study); abstraction (mental abstraction from a number of properties of objects and the allocation of some property or relationship); idealization (mental creation of any abstract objects that are fundamentally not feasible in experience and reality).

Forms of non-scientific knowledge:

myth; life experience; folk wisdom; common sense; religion; art; parascience.

Intuition is a specific component of the connection between sensory and rational cognition. Intuition- the ability of human consciousness in some cases to catch the truth by intuition, conjecture, based on previous experience, on previously acquired knowledge; insight; direct knowledge, cognitive premonition, cognitive insight; super fast thought process. Types of intuition: 1) sensual, 2) intellectual, 3) mystical.

Classification of forms of cognition according to the type of human spiritual activity

* Existential ( J.-P. Sartre, A. Camus, K. Jaspers and M. Heidegger). The cognitive sphere includes emotions and feelings (not sensations) of a person. These experiences are ideological and spiritual in nature.

* Morality is not only a personal form of regulation of human behavior, but also a special form of knowledge. Morality must be learned, and its presence speaks of the spiritual development of a person.

* Aesthetic knowledge has received the greatest development in art. Features: learns the world from the point of view of beauty, harmony and expediency; is not given with birth, but is brought up; is one of the spiritual ways of cognition and activity; it is not aimed, unlike scientific knowledge, at a specific benefit; is entirely creative in nature, does not copy reality, but creatively perceives it. Moreover, it can create its own, aesthetic reality, which is capable of spiritually influencing a person, transforming, transforming and improving his nature.

True- correspondence between facts and statements about these facts. objective truth- the content of knowledge, which is determined by the subject being studied, does not depend on the preferences and interests of a person. subjective truth depends on the perception of the subject, his worldview and attitudes.

Relative truth- incomplete, limited knowledge; such elements of knowledge that in the process of development of knowledge will change, be replaced by new ones. Relative truth depends on the point of view of the observer, it is changeable (this is what the theory of relativity says).

absolute truth- complete, exhaustive knowledge of reality; that element of knowledge that cannot be refuted in the future.

Absolute truth and relative truth different levels (forms) of objective truth.

In form, truth can be: worldly, scientific, artistic, moral, etc., therefore, there can be as many truths as there are types of knowledge. Scientific truth, for example, is distinguished by the system, orderliness of knowledge, its validity and evidence. Spiritual truth is nothing but the correct, conscientious attitude of a person towards himself, other people and the world.

Delusion- the content of the knowledge of the subject, which does not correspond to the reality of the object, but is taken as the truth. Sources of delusions: errors in the transition from sensory to rational cognition, incorrect transfer of someone else's experience. Lie- deliberate distortion of the image of the object. Disinformation- this is a substitution for selfish reasons of reliable unreliable, true - false.

Reasons for the relativity of human knowledge: the variability of the world; limited cognitive abilities of a person; the dependence of the possibilities of cognition on real historical conditions, the level of development of spiritual culture, material production, and the characteristics of human cognitive activity.

The criterion of truth depends on the form and method of cognition. It can be empirical, that is, experimental (in science); rationalistic (in science and philosophy); practical (in science, social practice); speculative (in philosophy and religion). In sociology, the main criterion of truth is practice, which includes material production, accumulated experience, experiment, supplemented by the requirements of logical consistency and, in many cases, the practical usefulness of certain knowledge.

Practice - material, purposeful activity of people.

Functions of practice in the process of learning: 1) the source of knowledge (the needs of practice brought to life the existing sciences); 2) the basis of knowledge (due to the transformation of the surrounding world, the most profound knowledge of the properties of the surrounding world occurs); 3) practice is the driving force behind the development of society; 4) practice is the goal of cognition (a person cognizes the world in order to use the results of cognition in practical activities); 5) practice is a criterion for the truth of knowledge.

Main types of practice: scientific experiment, production of material goods, socially transforming activity of the masses. Practice structure: object, subject, need, goal, motive, expedient activity, object, means and result.