Importance of Getting to the Truth

The different disciplines and areas of knowledge have something in common, because in all of them we seek to know the truth about something. We could say that this search is a natural inclination that pushes us to discover enigmas and to overcome our own limitations.

A journey in which you never reach a final destination

Mathematics allows us to have a valid idea about what is true or false. If I say that two and two equals four, or that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, I have made a statement that no one can dispute. However, in other areas the concept of truth or falsehood is blurred in a remarkable way. Thus, in an absolute sense there is nothing that is totally true, since there is always the possibility that new information appears that contradicts the facts. In this sense, many theories that have been considered valid, with the time They have proven their falsehood. In others words, the idea of ​​truth that we handle is provisional.

Although the idea of ​​truth is changeable and unstable, we must not give it up. We need to believe that what we think is true, otherwise we would live in permanent doubt. Thus, we create some valid criteria to achieve a certain degree of coherence between what we think and what we say, between what we see and the words we use to express it. In a way, the search for the truth is like a journey that we must take to advance in the knowledge of everything that exists.

At the same time, the truth has an evident ethical component, since in all cultures those who resort to falsehoods or lies are penalized.

Alétheia and veritas

For the Greeks the concept of truth was understood as a attitude intellectual and a way of understanding one's own existence. In this way, they considered that what remained hidden and shrouded in mystery could be revealed. To express this idea they used the word aletheia. This term comes from the mythology Greek, because Alétheia was the goddess of truth and sincerity.

In Roman civilization the idea of ​​truth was expressed with the word veritas. It was understood that veritas was a necessary virtue and without it, life was not possible. coexistence.

Certainties, truths and opinions

Faced with the possibility of reaching the truth about a matter, there are several alternatives. We could choose the option of willful ignorance, but it is an absurd choice. It would also be possible to choose the path of doubt, but this path leads nowhere.

Finally, since the absolute truths are unattainable, we only have the path of certainty, that is, a safe and reliable knowledge about something.

The certainties we have are based on evidence and have a higher rank than simple subjective opinions.

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