Is Truth Approximate? (America)

[Sunstone]

Outside of deductive logic and mathematics, is truth approximate? For instance, can it be reasonably said that claiming the American Civil War began in 1857 is more true than claiming the War began in 1958, even though neither claim is completely accurate? Or must something be completely accurate for it to be true?

[angellous_evangellous]

Outside of deductive logic and mathematics, is truth approximate?

Yep, but I'd say that mathematics and logic are also both approximations.

[Fluffy]

One thing cannot be more true than another. It can only have a higher chance of being true.

Truth values are applied to propositions. In the case of a conclusion, the truth value is determined by whether the the truth values of the premises of the argument and whether the argument is valid.

In the case of deduction, validity is always the case and so the conclusion either has a 100% chance of being true or a 100% chance of being false assuming that we know the truth values of the premises.

However, in the case of non-deduction, validity is never the case and so in order to make such arguments meaningful, we must replace validity with probability. Therefore, it is not "more true" that the American Civil War happened in 1857 but "more likely to be true".

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

Yep, but I'd say that mathematics and logic are also both approximations.

Approximations understood as statements of "truth" ultimately resolve to whether the one considering a particular proposition is convinced that it best approximates the "truth." Thus, the "truth" is necessarily within the act of perceiving and deciding - and there is more than one "truth" because different people will be convinced that different mutually exclusive reality models are the most convincing/reliable/"true".

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

Approximations understood as statements of "truth" ultimately resolve to whether the one considering a particular proposition is convinced that it best approximates the "truth." Thus, the "truth" is necessarily within the act of perceiving and deciding - and there is more than one "truth" because different people will be convinced that different mutually exclusive reality models are the most convincing/reliable/"true".

Did you just wake up thinking like this?

[doppelgänger]

Originally Posted by angellous_evangellous

Did you just wake up thinking like this?

Thinking like this wakes me up. >