User:Nicola.georgiou/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge/Seminar group 16/ Truth

Seminar Group 16 Truth Contributions

=Introduction=

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth's superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —

As Emily Dickinson warns us, truth is too vast and powerful for human beings to face all at once. It must be sought and told, as a notion that encompasses everything, however it must be exposed gradually. The ambiguity on what she means by truth makes the poem open to any interpretations, just as the subject of truth itself. The poem published in 1890 is still relevant today, as we try to answer questions about truth. Etymologically, the word truth comes from Old English “triewð” (West Saxon) or “treowð” (Mercian) which used to mean "faith, faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty; veracity, quality of being true; pledge, covenant." However, today we use it in so many various ways and meanings that it is highly difficult to give a single definition for it. Different disciplines across the humanities, sciences and social sciences approach the notion of truth in ways which can be both very different and very similar in relation to each other. The methodologies of obtaining truth and the ways of defining it can also have certain similarities and differences across disciplines.

Theories of Knowledge (Epistemology) and Truth

Mirror (Realist, Positivist)

The idea that knowledge is produced mirroring the reality it exists in. It is positivist because it views data in its unmediated form taken from the real world. In this way, we can project a mirror of reality back to ourselves in an accurate way.

Interpretive, Perceive (Phenomenological)

Direct interpretations and perceptions of certain things give us direct access to certain data on which we can generate logically constructed truths. These perceptions help build truths that format our authoritative knowledge.

Constructive (Social Constructionism)

Objective truths may change as they are dependent on society. As our forms of representation, languages and the way we create knowledge are social, they are also specific to a particular society.

This sandbox explores the applications and approaches of truth in various disciplines.

= Truth in Cultural Anthropology =

Anthropology is defined as ‘the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture’.

Positivism in Cultural Anthropology
A realist approach is often used to identify truths in the physical world. For example, sources such as fossils and artefacts serve to show us immediate proof of the existence of an object or an occurrence, as it can be perceived in an unmediated manner, optically and tactically. However, this imposes that objective truths are confined only to methodological naturalism, and therefore other measures of knowledge are viewed as inferior. Using Balinese Hindu cockfighting as an example, the Batur Bang Inscriptions from 933 AD and the Batuan Inscription from 944 AD reveal that this traditional ritual has existed for centuries. Moreover, this ceremony still occurs in the present day and can be observed, and is therefore true.

Interpretive Anthropology as a Response
Culture, as defined by Clifford Geertz, is ‘a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life’. In Geertz’ article, ‘Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight’, he concluded that “cocks are symbolic expressions of their owner's self, the narcissistic male ego” and that they are also “expressions of what the Balinese regard as the direct inversion of human status: animality.” It is argued that cultural anthropology is better understood through a hermeneutic approach, accompanied by thick description — a term predominantly associated with Geertz’ work defined as ‘a detailed account of field experiences in which the researcher makes explicit the patterns of cultural and social relationships and puts them in context’. This is very much an interpretive technique that is seen as necessary in the anthropological world — without this method, our positivist findings hold trivial significance.

A Venn Diagram
Combined to explain traditions and unveil symbols behind customs, both positivist and interpretive methodologies are imperative in uncovering truth in cultural anthropology, bringing to light a better apprehension of society — the fundamental principle of this discipline.

= Truth in Musicology =

Introduction
What could the notion of 'truth' mean in musicology? The fact that music is an artistic discipline that affects people in a way that often goes beyond our comprehension and conscience, does not mean that you can’t find any rationality in musicology. The fact that it has been theorised anyway shows that we must have an idea of what we consider to be the truth in music.

The correlation between music and mathematics
Firstly there is a fundamental correlation between music and mathematics. You can see it with the rhythms that are basically regular divisions of rather small patterns of time, in a particular way. But the mathematical knowledge you need in order to understand music theory lies in the tuning and harmony system. You can explain music with science because for example one particular chord, frequency is gonna trigger one particular area of the brain. Geometry is very important as well, for example on an aesthetic level when it comes to the disposition of notes and the carving of rhythms on the music score. In Antiquity, Pythagoras managed to calculate the sound ratios of the most harmonious musical intervals, but according to whom?

The varying truth of Musicology in different cultures
This diatonic scale established by him is indeed the most important one in the Western tradition, but many other cultures have used and suggested a myriad of other scales, other ways of approaching and creating music. For example, Indian music might sound exotic to western cultures because they don’t have the same truth than us in music theory. For us, harmony doesn’t mean the same thing than for them, a note that’s going to be off key for us is not going to be for them. As a matter of fact, Western music divides an octave into the twelve notes of the chromatic scale, and base their approach of music on two different tones, major and minor. Even if they also have twelve notes, Indians see things differently, as they focus their interest on the relative relationship between the notes, and not on looking for absolute frequencies. Thus, the tuning system differs as well, depending on many different factors, such as the music’s texture or even its most commonly used instruments, which would, in that case, be the piano in western music and the Tanpura in Indian music. Lastly, unlike westerners, Indians use the concept of a shruti, which is a smaller interval than the ones we consider to exist between notes. This is also why Indian music can sound weirdly out of tune to someone used to this Western operation. Thus, even if music is fundamentally related to mathematics which is a pretty rational discipline, we could believe that there would be some consensus on the vision of truth in music theory. But as we can see, it is still something that is perceived differently according to the different times and cultures, that cannot be fixed and captured as a whole, and that is probably what makes the richness of music, and keeps its mystery alive.

= Truth in Film and TV studies =

Film and TV as mediums to express truth
Film and television are influential mediums through which various truths can be expressed; truths of oneself, societal truths and interpretative truths. The notion of ‘truth’ is multi-faceted and ambiguous, but can be generally defined as "[...] the property of sentences, assertions, beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what is the case [...] truth is the aim of belief". However, this traditionalistic view suggests that truth is a fixed concept, universally objective, which denies it the thoughtful nuance required to truly determine it’s meaning. Truths are highly variable depending on the demographic in question, shaped by individual experiences, ideologies and beliefs; thus, it is a particularly paradoxical concept to examine. Film and television, from their inceptions to the current day, have embodied this paradox, with reception to their content- amongst other factors- being used to fuel academic study, demonstrated by the abundance of higher education programs rooted in their analysis, with the establishment of the London Film School in 1956 suggesting that this is not a recent phenomenon.

The influential power of film and TV and how they affect truth
The influence of film and TV cannot be overstated; in the United Kingdom alone, there were 26.8 million households in 2019 that owned at least one television, with Netflix subscriptions reaching over 13 million in 2020 , a figure that has been "rising steadily over the last six years". Microcosmically, this evidences the great extent to which the global population has access to film and TV and, by extension, ideological truths presented by them. Through the veil of entertainment, film and TV have the capability to alter one's perceptions of oneself, of other people, and constructivist truths about society as a whole; this is achieved in a variety of ways, i.e. unification of viewers via a ‘shared anticipation’, revolutionizing ‘views of reality’ through on-screen representation of minorities and educational programming that serves to introduce people to different truths and modes of living.

= Truth in History = Understanding the past is imperative to constructing our future, but what is the truth in history? It can be said that the past does not change so does it guarantee an objective reality or is this notion problematic as we reconstruct our views on the basis of evidence which exists in the present?

Positivism in History
Auguste Comte, the founder of positivism, argued that a mirror approach previously dominant in scientific knowledge could be extended to finding the truth in history. In discovering the laws guiding the development of human society, like the natural laws in the science, historical evidence requires no interpretation, with primary sources acting as the main ‘truth’ of the past. Postmodernism critics reject this thinking as a sensory experience cannot be unambiguous and accurate if it is ‘mediated by the concepts we use to analyse it’, therefore we cannot take history at face value without interpretation.

Interpretive History
History is sensitive to paradigm shifts and historical truths are in constant fluctuation. Contrary to the positivist claim to objectivity, the degree of interpretation of data means that memory is falliable, evidence is ambiguous and prejudice is common. Unlike science where robust evidence and laws can be replicated, the evaluation of sources, concerning context and primary origin, must be ingrained in the critical thinking of history as a discipline. History is a selection of a selection, that being the primary sources available to us are subject to the lens of the curator who have their own truths based on personal experience or even national loyalties. Despite this, it is the aim of the historian in finding the truth in history to analyse multiple, diverse source materials with extreme scepticism to achieve the broadest and less opaque truth as possible.

= Truth in Music =

The idea of truth in music is often seen as an ‘unfashionable idea’ (Furedi),, hence there are many different interpretations of what truth in music means. It is important to remember that truth in music is highly subjective, and as a musician myself, depends greatly on individual experiences. Therefore, music is a perceiver truth, and the following sections will explain the different aspects of music as a perceiver truth.

Music and the Arts
One thing to note is that there is a difference between truth in the arts as a whole and truth in music. Truth in representational works of art (e.g. novels or paintings) often have real subjects. Meaning, the work of art can represent the world in an either truthful or untruthful way. An example given by Levinson (1981) states that although a novel portrayed New York Society as cruel in the 1890’s, was it really so? However, music usually doesn’t represent anything, nor does it generate a fictional world, but it does have other content, such as expression. Listening to music might bring to mind certain ideas and/or feelings.

Music and Time
There have also been varying ideas on truth in music in the past compared to truth in music in the present. Back in the 1800’s, music was believed to reveal to the listener the truth of their existence. This is summarized by Robert Browning in his poetry, ‘There is no truer truth obtainable / By Man than comes of music.’ However, truth in music is a term uncomfortably used today, partly because ideas are more often justified on evidence rather than being good or true. For example, by using the claim ‘research shows’: in music, research claims that babies exposed to music before birth remember it, having long-term positive effects. This mindset takes away from experiencing music in its own terms.

Music and Expression
To conclude, truth in music is often determined by the expression it emotes in individuals. Truth about music helps to illustrate this idea. For example, if a sonata was composed in the eighteenth century, or that certain scales were common in Indian music, those facts could be checked, and they can influence listening experience. Therefore, the structure of music might mirror the emotions is expresses, and because of this successful correlation, it can be said that the piece of music is “true.”

= The Controversy regarding Truth in Theology =



Theology is the study of the divine; of religious faith, practice, and experience. The term derives from the Greek theologia (θεολογία): theos (Θεός, 'god') and logia (λογία, 'utterances, sayings, oracles'). Religion plays a major role in society: there are roughly 10.000 different religions worldwide, which include Christianity, Buddhism, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism#:~:text=Hinduism%20is%20an%20Indian%20religion,global%20population%2C%20known%20as%20Hindus. Hinduism], Islam, Judaism, and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism#:~:text=Atheism%20is%20in%20the%20broadest,that%20there%20are%20no%20deities. Atheism]. Despite theology's prevalence in history and social evolution, scientists often view this field of study deprecatingly, due to its lack of vigor and evidence in claims; that being said, theology's truth does not lie in evidence, but faith.

Truth in Theology and Faith
Theology uses mainly constructive truth in its studies since it is rooted in tradition and social evolution, perception. Despite the emphasis on perception, the use of reason and logic is discouraged in theological studies; in Christianity, logic, and reason can interfere with the biblical truth, distorting its ground beliefs, allowing the misinterpretation of prophecies and values.

The Questions in Truth
One lingering question in theology is the relation between God and time. While the Greeks viewed God as a "static perfection inhabiting eternity, detached from the flux of the world", modern theological perceptions-process theology-view God as evolving within time. Because of the theological materials'(such as the bible) open-to-interpretation factor, questions arise about the validity of the information presented in them.

Evolution in Theology
Queer Theology emerged in the late 20th century and it emphasizes the rudimentary interpretation of passages from the bible and the importance of evolution in theology along with societal evolution. Although Queer Theology does not disregard the fact that homosexual acts were looked down upon in the bible, it is believed that this interpretation was a matter of social beliefs that reflected the times the Old and New Testament were written in (165 BC, first century AD), rather than actual religious beliefs. Despite that, sociologists found traces of queer stories in the bible that were not condemned, only brushed off, such as in the Epistle to the Romans where Paul visits 'unusual households' not led by married men. . Because of society's constant evolution and theology's ground materials for practice and study, such as the bible, being unclear and left open-to-interpretation, the truth in theology lies in beliefs rather than logic and evidence.

= Truth in Art and Literature =

Introduction
Can truth be created out of nothing? Is there any place for truth within art, within literature? Such questions have been raised and answered in various ways since Plato questioned whether a work of art was anything more than an illusion, and whether or not it existed “independent” of an audience, to which Aristotle argued against, by saying that art is “something that is both thingly and cognitive, physical and metaphysical, substantial and insubstantial, concrete and intellectual.”

Truth in Art
Throughout history, there was a quest for knowing where art existed. According to the art historian Panofsky, the debates around the question revolved around ideas such as art being a reflection of what is already existing in nature, being born in the mind of its creator as a response to the surrounding world of the artist, and simply acting as a mirroring of God. One can argue that art can exist in all of those things, or none. The Journal of Philosophy lists three different kinds of truths in art: the “surface truths” which consist of true assertions such as those in “historical or sociological novels and didactic poetry,” the “embedded truths” which consist of the truths underlying in metaphorical expressions, and the “embodied truths” which are the ideas that the works try to get across - such as dehumanization caused by war in Picasso’s Guernica.

Truth, Lies, and Fiction
Some remarks on the subject of truth in art stress the value of art in reflecting the truth, while suggesting that it isn’t the truth by its nature. In Picasso's definition, "art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.” Regarding the place of art in our lives, Nietzche said “We have art in order not to die of the truth.” His aphorism asserts that the lies of art can save us humans from the cruel truths of life. American novelist Tim O'Brien explores the relationship between truth and fiction - which according to him is “... the lie that helps us understand the truth” - in his book The Things They Carried, about a platoon of soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War. Throughout the book, he often twists the truth and makes it challenging for his authors to tell the events that actually occurred apart from the ones that didn’t, because to him, “That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth.”

Endnote
The notion of truth in art and literature has been and will be challenging to address. While approaching it, both the nature of the external world, the nature of the internal world of the artists and their audiences, and the nature of the works themselves have to be examined.

= Different perspectives on truth in cognitive behavioral therapy in Psychology =

Introduction
Truth is an interesting concept when regarded in an academic perspective. The definition of truth has a long philosophical history, today however, there are many ways to define truth. Two definitions according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary are: ”The state of being the case” and ”a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true”. In the academic and scientific discipline of psychology, a common method of treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy, also known as CBT. This kind of therapy emerged using two different approaches to truth: A positivist or mirror approach as well as a perceived or interpretive approach.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
In 1964, the method of cognitive behavioral therapy was created by Dr Aaron T. Beck. Doctor Becks work was however based of behavior research conducted by John B. Watson in 1913. Cognitive behavioral therapy is focused on human behaviors, what causes them and how the individual at issue experiences emotions regarding the cause and behavior. This type of therapy became a common approach to dealing with psychological disorders in the early 1980s, and today it is one of the most common methods of psychotherapy.

Positivist Perspective on CBT
As previously mentioned, cognitive behavioral therapy consists of different kinds of truth. The first one being the positivist idea of truth. This approach is distinguished by the principle that truth is considered to be found or created using empirical evidence. The positivist perspective could also be described as a mirror whose aim is to show the world. This concept is used in cognitive behavioral therapy when approaching the causes behind a particular behavioral pattern, for instance. When commencing the research on cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr Beck searched for truth through a positivist lens by emphasising the importance of quantifying the symptoms a patient was experiencing by using a general method. The use of direct methods to find or create truth is a crucial part of positivist truth.

Interpretive Perspective on CBT
Moving ahead to the second way of viewing truth: perceived or interpretive truth. This is focused on individual experiences or perceptions of an issue, rather than to mirror the objective reality. Regarding cognitive behavioral therapy, the part where the patient expresses feelings and thoughts about the actual behaviors or their origin is based on interpretive truth. Research in psychotherapy has throughout its history been focused on finding truth via an perceptive lens. And this principle is, as seen, still widely conducted today.

Conclusion and Further Research
To conclude, the two approaches to truth are different from each other, thus making a comparative analysis between the two interesting. However, it could be even more interesting to investigate how they can be coordinated to enhance each others functions - similar to the case in cognitive behavioral therapy.

= The role of truth in politics =

Introduction
It is no secret that truth and politics were always in conflictual terms and people nowadays have increasing difficulties trusting politicians. In the UK for example, it is estimated that only 15 % of the population trusted politicians in 2016. Why is trust so difficult to obtain for politician and what is the role of truth in politics ?

History of the conflict between truth and politics
This conflict between truth and politics is nothing new. In fact in the past, spreading the truth was seen as dangerous activity. In the best-case scenario, people that took part in activities such as spreading truth would be considered as ridicule, however in the worst scenarios they would be killed. In his cave allegory, Plato says that “If they could lay hands on [such a man] … they would kill him”. Thus we understand that it can be argued that the people back in history would rather stay in the comfort of their ignorance (the darkness of the cave in Plato’s allegory) than being illuminated by the truth as they would kill anybody that disrupts the peacefulness of their ignorance. I would argue that this is still the case today and that Plato’s cave allegory still can be seen as valid in our current times. It takes time for people to accept or assimilate the truths. This is particularly true today as can be seen with the situation in China concerning the persecution of the Uighurs. Even though evidence shows that there is a persecution of Uighurs in China, today only very few international actions were taken in order to fight it.

Using lies as a tool
Lies are seen as necessary and justifiable tools for politicians as they are essential in order for them to achieve their objectives and to be able to persuade their people. Lies are not only used in negative ways and for manipulative purposes. It has been used in the past to protect a nation’s prestige as American president Dwight D. Eisenhower did during the cold war when he “denied that the Soviet Union had shot down a United States spy plane.” Lying has been used for good reasons in the past, however politicians do use this tool for their own good. There is countless examples of politicians lying to exploit public ignorance. Voter ignorance is widely used by politicians by lying about the concrete actions of their policies by overselling their benefits and by hiding as much as possible the downsides. A recent example of this is Obama’s “affordable care act” in which he promised to the people that if “you like your health care plan, you can keep it” when he knew perfectly well that millions of people would have to abandon their plans.

Conclusion
Truth and politics have historically be in conflict for ages as people would rather stay in the comfort of their ignorance than be disturbed by the ‘difficulties’ truth brings. It so very difficult for politics to be trusted as they manipulate the truth and use lies as a major tool in their campaigns and actions. However, even though lies are often used in manipulative manners, they sometimes can be seen as used for the general good.

=The Conception of Truth in Economics=

How Economics knowledge is produced
In Economics, the approaches to truth could reflect the combination of 3 streams of epistemology: Realist, Phenomenological and Constructionism.

Through observation, firstly economists discover common phenomena or behaviours of consumers and firms in the market, which are part of the reality itself. Once the certain characteristic is clearly and accurately perceived, then a truth is built on it with the support from substantial corporate and government data (mathematical graphs are plotted to validate and demonstrate the perceptions by using data). This truth provides a basis on which we can build a form of authoritative knowledge. For example, the law of demand as one truth is shaped in this way. It states that “consumers demand more of a good the lower its price, holding constant other factors that influence the amount they consume” and is strongly supported by the empirical evidence available.

Evaluation of the production of “truth”
The constructed Economics theories largely mirror the existence of objective reality. However, exceptions to the well-established “truth” exist. Inferences obtained from the laws may not always be right as social situation or reality based on to construct the truth is changing. For example, in Tulipmania that happened in Dutch in 17th century, people at that time placed a high value on tulips, a symbol of social status. The higher the price, the larger the quantity demanded to tulips was when many insanely hoarded large quantities of tulips at home. In the Covid-19 epidemic, the overall trend of hoarding goods being priced even higher than before is displayed as consumers make purchases based on intuitive expectations rather than actual needs. The two cases both breach the law of demand stated above.

Besides, to determine the truth, deductive reasoning in Economics always starts from and heavily relies on assumptions, followed by theoretical analysis. Assumptions refer to “something that you accept as true without question or proof", which could lead economists to try to create a particular form of knowledge in a particular kind of way.

What is valued by Economists in the construction of truth
Although the theories “only sometimes explain or provide insights into ‘real’ phenomena”, they allow us to gain insights into the behaviours of rational mans. Their nature of being “admittedly incomplete” implies that the criterion used to judge them should not rigid. During the process of construction, “we are trying to organize our thoughts and observations in a useful manner” e.g. applying theories to make testable predictions. “How often has it been useful? How useful has it been?” matters more than “Is it right or is it wrong?”

= Truth in Criminal Justice=

Criminal Justice System is defined as ‘the system in a society by which people who are accused of crimes are judged in court’

Production of Truth in a Trial
For the jury, there is one question that predominates the court regarding the parties : When do we know that we hold the Truth ? A trial’s goal is to evaluate a sentence that is fair for all the parties of the action. The goal also indeed is to establish a common truth To all parties. To be fair and impartial, the jury should judge exclusively with the Truth, and nothing else, such as impression or hypothesis. From this point, we can establish that the jury would try avoid anything other than a Mirror way of thinking about Truth. The concept of a trial is almost to recreate the action in the most realistic way possible, for example, lawyers or prosecutors often go through Every details of the entire action and reenact them to make their point. Witnesses, prooves, objects , alibis are concret things that help to create an actual representation of the scene of interest, as if the jury is looking in a mirror. To illustrate the importance of Realist truth in a trial, we can look at France Glessner Lee’s famous nutshells. These little dollhouses offered a perfected and perfectly detailed reduced representation of a crime scene ( usually called Dioramas ). An Harvard magazine resume her motive by saying that France Lee was ‘convinced by criminological theory that crimes could be solved by scientific analysis of visual and material evidence［...］ If only the setting could be seen properly, the truth, “in a nutshell,” would be exposed.’ She also advocated a geometrical method to extract the most knowledge possible : a clockwise spiral search pattern to study the evidences in a crime scene.

Dysfunction of Truth in the Judicial System
Most of the time, there isn’t enough elements to reconstitute a safe and sure representation of the truth. While we said that a jury must be very aware of  epistemological dimension when examining If the parties’ claims legitimacy. Indeed, the jury often needs to make use of an interpretive way of thinking about Truth. When the versions of the parties clashes, when there is no witnesses to confirm the parties’ statements or when proofs are missing the jury still have to pronounce a sentence, usually. The idea of Truth thus transform into the idea of the most realist and likely scenario. The basis on which the correction will be defined become ‘unsure’ which can cause controversy. In the USA, some Sentenced to death have proven to be innocent after their execution. For instance, Carlos de Luna was condemned to electric chair for stabbing someone in a convinience store in Texas (1989). After 20 years, a proof was founded that proved him to be innocent and that instead another man who was already confessing the crime at the time, was guilty. This example shows how Justice and Trial doesn’t always means Truth and how one element can make a Truth go from a fair sentence to an unfair execution.

= References =