Nature of Truth – Lesson 2.2 Vocabulary

Key vocabulary terms from the lecture on how we acquire, validate, and define truth within epistemology.

Empiricism

The view that knowledge is acquired through the five senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling.

Rationalism

The view that knowledge is acquired primarily by thinking and using the mind rather than the senses.

Reality (epistemic sense)

The actual state of affairs that exists independently of our thoughts, feelings, or preferences.

Perception

The process of interpreting sensory information (e.g., noticing a man is smiling or wearing a blue jacket).

Concept

A mental grouping that identifies what multiple percepts have in common (e.g., recognizing both images as ‘man and woman’).

Widenings (wider generalizations)

A type of abstraction that moves from particulars to broader, more general concepts.

Narrowings (subdivisions)

A type of abstraction that divides a wider concept into more specific sub-categories.

Affirmative Proposition

A statement that asserts something in a positive form (e.g., “Men are mortals”).

Negative Proposition

A statement that denies something (e.g., “Men are not mortals”).

Inference

The mental process of drawing a conclusion from premises, such as deducing that Socrates is mortal.

Knowledge

Theoretical or practical understanding of a topic; may or may not be true.

Truth

A fact or statement verified as real, authentic, and consistent with reality.

Proof

A multi-step process of validation that ultimately rests on sensory evidence.

Consensus (truth criterion)

Agreement of the majority used as a way—though sometimes unreliable—to judge a statement’s truth.

Action Test

Determining truth by acting (e.g., approaching someone to see if they are friendly).

Opinion

A view based on emotions and bias, open to interpretation, and not fully confirmable.

Fact

A circumstance in the world that simply is; cannot be true or false in itself.

Belief

An opinion about facts that can be true or false depending on how accurately it describes reality.

Reduction (epistemology)

Retracing the steps by which a belief was formed—moving from inference back to perception—to validate knowledge.

Correspondence Theory of Truth

Holds that a belief is true if it matches or ‘corresponds to’ the facts of reality.

Coherence Theory of Truth

Holds that a statement is true if it fits consistently within a larger, orderly system of beliefs.

Pragmatic Theory of Truth

Holds that a belief is true if it proves useful or works in practical situations.

Premise

A starting statement in an argument from which a conclusion is drawn (e.g., ‘All men are mortals’).

Conclusion

The statement logically derived from premises (e.g., ‘Therefore, Socrates is mortal’).