My eldest(5 3/4) asked me this over dinner today, what would be your answer?

Truth is what you feel it to be.....
Sorry that is the Common Purpose answer...

Truth is self evident - I don't know how to tell that to a 5 3/4 year old though....its been a while

I kept it basic, opposite of a lie. Then had to elaborate on the difference between a lie as an answer and an uninformed wrong answer.

Got me thinking though (apart from 'this is why I prefer kids') as to how to elaborate on the nature of absolute truth being subjective and therefore never absolute. She's bright but she's till only 5!

what actually happened.

batou wrote:
Is that your answer or a question?

If it's your answer some truths haven't happened but still remain true. 'Humankind will not reach it's full potential until we stop competing with each other'. That hasn't happened but to me is still essentially true.

the truth is a slightly different definition than what is true, the truth literally means a consensus of opinion at any one time, were as what is true is always true, confused? good as they are legal definitions, so 'telling the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth' is different than stating what is true, the judges can not put what is true on trial [as what is true needs no opinion or judgement], but they can judge what is perceived to be the truth.

tis a shibboleth we live in, where the written word is different from that which is spoken, eg. did I write live, as in where i live, or live as in i am going to sing live [good news is I am not going to sing, and that is a true statement, but maybe not the truth as I may sing in the future ]

oioioi wrote:
Can absolute truth be subjective? Sounds like an Oxo moron to me.

Surely, at a basic level there are three grades: 1. Truth 2. Unknown 3. Lie . Truth can only be an absolute....

Wise Haven wrote:
Indeed.

As humans we can only experience it subjectively.

Does a tree make a'noise' when it falls if you are a bat?

justoneman wrote: I have to disagree - When did truth mean a "consensus of opinion"? ...apart from a modern perversion of the word. Yes I get the vagaries of truth in legal systems - but truth is an absolute, however difficult it may be to ascertain

Wise Haven wrote:
I have lost so many friends and acquaintances for ever holding this view.

oioioi wrote:
Nice, I'm thinking this:
rationalwiki.org/wiki/Fallacy_fallacy

oioioi wrote: That is because they weren't absolute friends or acquantances.... simples

The wife is a Dr of Psychology, when I declared I can never fully comprehend human philosophy until I can remove the human element of the speaker and me the listener she almost lost it

oioioi wrote:
LOL - I hope you patted her head and uttered sincere "there, there's" to calm her "cognitive dissonance" attack

Nice one.

just to confuse even more

The “Legal” definition of Lie: TO LIE. That which is proper, is fit; as an action on the case lies for an injury committed without force; corporeal hereditaments lie in livery, that is, they pass by livery; incorporeal hereditaments lie in grant, that is, pass by the force of the grant, and without any livery. Vide Lying in grant.

so lie means true! so the next time you hear a legally trained politician stating "I am not lying" that means he is not making a true statement. its called double speak

Santa is Odin. Nordic

St Nick is a myth. Santa/Odin knows best.

Blue_Tackler wrote:
Thanks BT - Not sure of the relevance of the videos to the thread though. Nice...liked the Christmas one .

It's my answer to 'what is truth?'

It's what we think that reality is.

Blue_Tackler wrote:
Let's be honest - Are (two tenuously relative) Youtube videos really an answer to the question "What is Truth"?

C'mon BT

Blue_Tackler wrote:
So what do you think it is?

My daughter needs answers, not YT links!