Grade 12 Introduction to Philosophy

3. How and when do we
know something is true?

4. THE METHODS OF TRUTH
THEORIES OF TRUTH

5. We can know whether a statement
/belief is true by examining whether
the statement/belief corresponds to,
or represents a fact in the world.
If the statement/belief does
correspond to a fact, then the
statement/belief is true; if it does not,
then it is false.
EXAMPLE:
The statement “the sky is blue” is
true because it represents or
corresponds to the fact that the sky
is blue.
EXAMPLE:
The statement “water is not wet” is
false

6. We can know whether a statement
/belief is true by examining whether
the statement/belief coheres with the
rules of the relevant system.
If the statement/belief coheres with
these rules, then the it is true; if it
does not, then it is false.
EXAMPLE:
The statement “3 + 3 = 6” is true
because it coheres with the rules.
EXAMPLE:
The statement “2 + 4 = 10” is false
“Bachelors are married males” is
false

7. We can know whether a statement
/belief is true by examining the
consequences of holding or
accepting the statement/belief to
be true.
The usual examples to illustrate this
method are statements or belief
which we hold to be true though
there are no objective means to
verify their truth.
For instance, some people who
think that there are ghosts or
vampires base their belief in the
fact that they find it useful to
hold such belief like― explaining
unusual phenomena and dealing
with their fears

9. INTERNAL OBSERVATION
Is observation of our own thoughts and feelings.
Some philosophers identify internal with what is
called introspection.
EXTERNAL OBSERVATION
is observation of things outside our mind or
consciousness, the physical objects, using our five
organs of sense. External observation can be done
with or without the aid of sensory extending
devices such as the telescope and microscope.

10. Generally the
process of knowing
or establishing
truth by means of
our reason, can be
done in a variety of
ways. it includes
testing for
coherence, whether
two statements are
contradictory or
cannot be held to be
true at the same
time.
It also includes the
process of proving the
truth of a statement
or belief on the basis
of the truth of
another statement ot
belief.
Inference - the
process is called, it
can be done
infectively or
deductively depending
on whether the truth
being proven is
regarded to be certain
or merely probable

12. a mystical experience is
therefore an experience of
these aspects of reality. A
mystical experience is
usually spiritual (dealing
with the nonphysical aspect
of life) and religious
(dealing with the divine or
sacred), such as the
experiences of our union
with God, of receiving
messages and instruction
from God, and of the
interrelatedness of things.
provides the person
having the experience
some means of knowing
something which cannot
be known using the
usual methods of
observation by our
sense organs and
reasoning.
the assumption is
that there are
some aspects of
reality or some
form of truths
that cannot be
accessed or known
using our normal
ways of knowing.
In this
connection, a
mystical
experience is
usually the way
by which
religious truths
are known.

13. may take form of a testimony of a reliable eyewitness, information provided by an
appropriate expert. and reliable documents, among others.
The required observation or reasoning to know a truth may have already been done and
documented by someone else.
When we, for instance, would like to know whether
a particular movie is already being shown in public
movie houses, we can rest on the testimony of
someone who has already seen the movie or has
been in the malls lately, consult the newspapers or
the Internet, or perhaps call an authority in the
management of public movie houses.
One common fallacy or error in reasoning is when we
appeal to the wrong authority. For instance, in a
television ad, someone who is an authority in the
game of basketball, being a highly basketball player,
endorses a product that is outside of or has nothing to
do with the game of basketball, say a dental product.

14. takes different forms as shown
by how we use the word "know"
in different situations. We use
the word "know" to mean
acquaintance or familiarity with
a place or person.

15. We, for instance, say "I know this place" and "I know
this person"; and in doing so we are expressing our
familiarity with a place and a person.

16. Another, we use the word "know" to mean knowledge of skills.
When people, for instance, say "I know how to cook chicken
adobo", "I know how to play tumbang preso," and "I know how
to operate the washing machine"

17. Still we use the word "know" to mean knowledge of a fact, a situation, or
anything that can be either true or false.
"I know that you like spicy food," and "I know that two and five are seven,"
what I claim to know are things that can be either true or false. Because what
can be either true or false can be stated in the form of a proposition or
statement.

18. According to the
standard account of
knowledge, known as the
JTB account
"KNOWLEDGE IS
JUSTIFIED TRUE
BELIEF" - Gettier 1963,
Ichikawa and Steup
2014, and Steup 2014
That is to say, we can only correctly
say that we know X if and only if (or
under the conditions of):
(1) we believe X to be true
(2) X is indeed true
(3) we are justified in believing X to
be true
(1) Jose believes that Manila is the
capital of the Philippines
(2) It is true that Manila is the capital
of the Philippines.
(3) Jose is justified in believing that
Manila is the capital of the Philippines

19. A person claim to know something
without any evidence at all
An opinion is simply an unjustified
belief that may turn out to be true. A
person claims to know a certain
event based on little or insufficient
evidence.

20. Disagreements
in
Belief
Disagreements
in
Attitude
Merely Verbal
Disagreements

21. are disagreements about facts, which
are properly resolved by verifying the
facts at issue
the verification of facts can be done
either by directly observing the facts, by
examining relevant documents, or by
appealing to appropriate authorities
Example:
the one over whether
a certain politician
stole money from the
government.

22. on the other hand, are disagreements
over preferences; and they are usually
resolved by persuasion, if not by
compromise. In the case of persuasion,
it can be done either logically, such as
when one's arguments are consistent
with the valid rules of deduction, or
logically, such as when one's arguments
commit the so-called informal fallacies
Example:
the one over whether
divorce and same-sex
marriage should be
legalized in out
country.

23. disagreements that arise out of the
misunderstanding of the meanings of
our linguistic expressions and they are
properly resolved by clarifying the
meanings of the misunderstood
linguistic expressions
Example:
when 2 friends are arguing
over which movie to watch
together only to find out
late that they have the
same movie in mind.