The Unadulterated Truth

I  had purchased one of those cheap coffee table books at Barnes and Nobles called "This is Not a Book".  Obviously, it was a book...but author Dr. Michael Picard didn't want it to be a book apparently...I have no idea why unless he thinks it is some kind of clever philosophical trick...but regardless, it had some intriguing ideas and thoughts.

The first section of the book, which is the only part I happened to read, deals with the philosophical Etymology.  He therefore defines what knowledge is as the basis for the purpose of the book.  I found many of his definitions to be lacking and misguided...or, 'adulterated' if you will...so I wrote down a few of them in order to see if I could come up with some conceptual system using English language (which is obviously an important factor) to make a sort of mathematical 'proof' of Unadulterated Truth.

To begin, I think one has to start with the definition of 'truth'.   If you can't sufficiently define 'truth' then there is no point in continuing since that is exactly what this study seeks to find.  Even a historically prominent man of leadership...one Pontius Pilate...had no idea what 'truth' was, nor seemed to be concerned with it when speaking by the very person who is the manifestation of truth, Jesus Christ.  Obviously, my perspective of truth is a Biblical one but that is because that is the only thing I have found in my existence to be completely and infallibly true.  But, enough with the introduction, lets get to the definition of truth:


From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truth
1

a archaic : fidelity, constancyb : sincerity in action, character, and utterance

2

a (1) : the state of being the case : fact (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual realityb : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics>c : the body of true statements and propositions

3

a : the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or realityb chiefly British : true 2c : fidelity to an original or to a standard

4

capitalized Christian Science : god

— in truth

: in accordance with fact : actually

I find Merriam Websters definitions, not unlike the English language, somewhat lacking and vague.  It does not surprise me since English itself is a language of swindlers and constructed to be as inoffensive as possible for the sake of influencing those that the nobility desired to conquer.  However, 2a2, 2b, and 3a would be the closest things dealing with the concept of truth for this study.

Here are my definitions of truth in contrast:

Truth:

1.  A reality that can be tested and justified.

2.  The person of Jesus Christ:  John 14:6 ..."I am the way the truth and the life;" (NASB)

Lets deal with definition 1 for now since it must be explained for the sake of the proof. 

A reality is something that actually exists.  We do also need the definition of 'existence' for that so:

Existence:

1.  The state of being.

The state of being can be thought of as something that meets the condition of being detectable, tangible, or accessible to human senses. A few examples of this would be like how a scent is something that is accessible to our sense of smell, a thought is something that is tangible to our mind/soul, and colors are something that our sight can detect (even though there are also very many that we can't detect without instruments).

To continue with the rest of the definition of 'truth', something tested can be measured and graded, while something justified can be accepted as proof that it is correct.  So truth, in essence, would be a reality that can be tested (measured/graded) and justified (proven).

Now, we need a few things to measure and grade the reality of truth as well as to prove it.  Thus, we need to define several other terms that deal with 'truth'.  In this journey I may be prone to edit, add, and possibly subtract from this list as I personally grow from this study.  Again, while I claim to be a philosopher I am not going to make the mistake that I know or understand everything that exists.  However, I can assuredly say that I know one who does. He is omniscient and it is my prayer that he assist me in this venture.  

So, without further ado, let us continue with the terms that deal with 'truth':

Belief:

The bias or knowledge that something is true or truth.  (Whether it is or is not, is irrelevant.)

Doubt:

A feeling, sensation, or general uncertainty that something isn't true. A relative measure of disbelief.

Fact:

A testable, absolute statement claiming to be truth.

Opinion:

A biased statement of belief relative to an individual's knowledge.

Awareness:

The conscious observation of, or, the conscious relation to, something's existence.

Assumption:

The belief that something is true yet without adequate knowledge or confidence to confirm it as true.

Knowledge:

The reality, belief, or awareness of things known and understood by an individual.

Ignorance:

The lack of knowledge and/or wisdom.


Enlightenment:
The relative belief that one has awareness far beyond ignorance.

Negligence:
The deliberate acceptance of ignorance.

Wisdom:

True reality as it relates to God (typically, truth that man discovers which leads to goodness, godliness, and/or joy, or, the avoiding of evil).

Good:

Something that which is approved of by God, society, or man (however, true 'good' must be ultimately approved by God since it is derived from the word 'God' and would thus need to truly be 'of' or 'from' God for it to be good.).

Evil:

1.  Something that is disapproved of by God.  

2.  The perversion or 'backwards living' of men or society.

3.  An amoral perspective towards life.

Absolute:
Something that is considered complete, perfect, pure, outright, whole, unrestricted, unlimited, all encompassing, and/or independent as far as value goes in conjunction with truth.

Relative:
Something that is dependent on an individual's, or group of individual's perspective.

Lie:
1.  Something claiming to be true, or thought of as true/truth, when in reality it is not.
2.  An act or statement of deception.
3.  A counterfeit of a reality.

...to be continued....