Rachel Spencer

Position Paper on Truth

Mr. Lindow
British Literature
April 24, 2015

The four twentieth philosophers that I studied each had a different view on truth, and
each philosopher defined truth from different philosophical angles. From my literature review, I
came to the conclusion that each philosopher used either math, science, and/or other
philosophical theories to create their definition of truth. However, none of them used the Bible
or used a Christian perspective to define truth. The real definition of truth can only be found in
the Bible. As Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me (Rhodes).
Philosopher Bertrand Russell defined truth from a factual standpoint. Russell used
these three points to create his definition of truth: The theory of truth allows truth to have an
opposite, namely falsehood, makes truth a property of beliefs, but makes it a property wholly
dependent upon the relation of the beliefs to outside things (Russell). Russell felt that human
understanding and the belief in truth was based solely on facts. In other words, he felt that for
something to be true, there had to be a corresponding fact that the individual accepted as true.
After this corresponding fact was declared true by an individual, then and only then was it
possible for that individual to come to the conclusion; truth.
The philosophy of truth was not approached from a factual standpoint by all
philosophers. French philosopher Michel Foucault viewed defined truth from a political
perspective. According the Foucault, truth is defined by each culture. No definition of truth is
exactly the same, and each is applied to a specific culture in a different way. Foucault felt that
each cultures definition of truth changed constantly through the education system, the media,
and the flux of political and economic ideologies (Gaventa). Foucault was a postmodern
philosopher and felt strongly that truth was a thing of this world, produced only by virtue of
multiple forms of constraint, and induced regular effects of power (Gaventa).
The third philosopher that I examined was Albert Camus. Camus felt strongly that it was
impossible to define truth. In his essay Myth of Sisyphus, Camus explains that for anything to
be true, it must be able to be proven (H2g2). This theory led Camus to state that since

knowledge cannot be proven, and since knowledge leads to truth, there is no way to prove truth.
While this definition of truth seems rather confusing, it can be concluded that Camus strongly
felt that truth didnt exist unless it was able to be proven.
The last philosopher that I examined was Hans Gadamer. According to Gadamer
philosophy of truth, he believed that truth could be an aesthetic, linguistic, or a scientific
concept. He also believed that truth could be related to a work of art because in his opinion, the
truth revealed in a piece of art could be seen through aesthetic apprehension. Gadamer had a
second philosophy about truth as well. In this philosophy he stated that in order for humans to
understand truth, they must understand written and spoken language, and they must assume its
meaning. Within Gadamers second philosophy of truth, he incorporated the element of
historical context by stating that that the reason humans believe history is because they have
the ability to understand and to some degree, anticipate what will happen next.
Through my literature review, I was able to get a better grasp on what many twentieth
philosophers view on truth is. It was surprising to me how little the Christian perspective of truth
was used. Although the theory of Darwinism was not directly stated in any of the philosophers
that I studied, I felt that it could definitely be detected in some of their theories. For example,
Michel Foucaults view on truth through a political and power perspective hints at Darwinism.
The idea that each culture creates and applies its own definition of truth could be seen as
relating to Darwins theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest.
I believe that the true definition of truth can be found in the Bible alone. Within the Bible,
there are several verses found in the Psalms and the New Testament that talk about truth. For
example, John 17:17 says, Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth (Rhodes). This verse
supports the Hans Gadamers philosophy on truth. As stated earlier in this paper, one of
Gadamers philosophies was that humans had to understand both written and spoken language
and anticipate what would happen in order to understand truth. This philosophy is supported by
John 17:17 because it talks about the word of God being truth.

Out of the four philosophers that I studied, the only one that I agreed with was Han
Gadamer. Although he did not outwardly state the Bible in his philosophy of truth, it is evident to
see that he did not base his definition solely off of science or former philosophers theories.
Instead, he used examples of history and language, subjects that have been proven to be true,
to create his philosophy of truth.
Through reading and studying the Bible, humans if they are willing, can learn that in this
world, Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life. By believing that God sent his son to this
earth, that he gave His only son up to die on the cross for our sins, and that on the third day
Jesus rose, ascended into heaven, and lives eternally with his heavenly Father, humans can
find truth and a purpose for living on earth. If humans believe in Christ and what He did for us,
and does for us daily, then we have found the meaning of truth. This belief in Christ rests solely
on humans ability to believe that historical facts are true. Archaeologists have found evidence
to support these historical facts. It is up to each individual to choose, believe, and seek Christ
out in our daily lives.
Psalm 119:160 says, The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous
rules endures forever (Rhodes). This verse defines my definition of truth. From a biblical
perspective, Gods word alone is truth, and if humans believe and have faith that His words are
truth, they will live forever in the eternal kingdom with God.

Bibliography
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"H2g2 - Albert Camus and Truth." H2g2 - Albert Camus and Truth. Hitchhiker's Guide to the
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Ridder, Shawn. "Michel Foucault: Truth and Power." Michel Foucault: Truth and Power. N.p.,
1999. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Rhodes, Harold. "What Is Truth?" Life, Hope & Truth. Church of God, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Russell, Bertrand. "Truth and Falsehood." The Problems of Philosophy. New York: H. Holt,
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Scott, Alex. "HG Gadamer's Truth and Method." HG Gadamer's Truth and Method. N.p., 2003.
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