| Truth, as we know, lies in the judgment. Not all | | | | know whether I should unite them into a |
| truths, of course, are of equal value to man. That | | | | judgment, because there is no necessary |
| my shoe squeaks, is a truth of no importance, | | | | connection between the ideas 'boy' and 'running'; |
| unless, perhaps, I were a burglar or a detective; | | | | the boy might just as well be 'standing' or 'sitting' |
| so, too, the fact that there is a solitary cloud in | | | | or 'walking.' That I actually judge, 'That boy is |
| the sky morning, is not a truth which will startle | | | | running,' is due to my actual experience of seeing |
| mankind. Such truths are commonplace and mean | | | | him run. Such judgments, then, are not analytical |
| little. But scientific truths have far greater value. | | | | but synthetic; they contain empirical truths, based |
| That, water, for instance, consists of one part | | | | on direct experience. |
| oxygen and two parts hydrogen, is a truth the | | | | As such, therefore, they are not considered to be |
| discovery of which meant a distinct advancement | | | | universal, necessary, and absolute truths; they are |
| in human knowledge and progress, because it | | | | contingent and experiential truths which may |
| enabled man to acquire great quantities of these | | | | change with changing circumstances. A |
| two useful elements. Philosophic truths possess | | | | comparison between this and the foregoing group |
| even greater importance than scientific truths, | | | | of judgments will reveal at a glance that the |
| because the validity of science depends upon | | | | synthetic judgments have by no means the |
| them. Thus, the Principles of Contradiction and of | | | | general truth-value of the analytical judgments, so |
| Sufficient Reason underlie all being and knowledge | | | | far as knowledge is concerned. |
| and constitute the very foundation of the | | | | The Mediate Judgments to Attain Truth |
| sciences. It will, therefore, not be amiss to classify | | | | The third classes of truths are those contained in |
| the different kinds of truths as found in the | | | | mediate judgments deduced by inference |
| judgments of the intellect, since the value of | | | | (reasoning) from 'first principles.' |
| man's spontaneous convictions is closely | | | | These mediate judgments are based on |
| connected with his insight into these truths. The | | | | self-evident 'first principles' or 'axioms,' but they |
| validity of man's knowledge can be established | | | | themselves are not self-evident; it takes a |
| only if the validity of such truths is established, | | | | process of reasoning to show that they follow |
| and so it is well to know these classes of truth. | | | | necessarily from these axioms. |
| The above brief account furnishes us with a | | | | Mathematical deductions are examples of this |
| survey of the sources and main facts of | | | | class of judgments. That 38,400 is divisible by |
| knowledge as revealed in the spontaneous | | | | 2,560 fifteen times is not in itself directly clear; |
| convictions of men. Sense-perception, intellection, | | | | but if we perform the division, or multiply 2,560 |
| and self-consciousness, all contribute their share | | | | by 15, we can prove the truth of the judgment. |
| toward the sum total of man's knowledge. There | | | | Similarly, that the square of the hypotenuse of a |
| is one trait characteristic of all these spontaneous | | | | right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the |
| convictions: man's knowledge is a faithful and | | | | squares constructed on the other two sides is |
| genuine representation of reality as it is in itself. | | | | clear enough when the proof is furnished by a |
| And this reality is twofold: Ego and non-Ego; the | | | | process of reasoning: but it is not a self-evident |
| ideal world of thought and the material world of | | | | truth like the statement that a plane square |
| physical objects; man himself and universe distinct | | | | encloses four right angles. |
| from man. And man's mind can transcend itself, | | | | A mere explanation or comparison of ideas will |
| reach out and contact this outside world, | | | | not suffice in these cases to perceive the truth |
| assimilate it cognitionally, and thereby acquire a | | | | of such judgments by means of immediate |
| valid knowledge of things. This is the sum and | | | | intuition; mediate inference is require to establish |
| substance of the facts as given in man's | | | | the logically necessary connection between such |
| convictions. | | | | truths and the axioms upon which they are based. |
| On the next post, I will explain everything about | | | | However, once this connection is demonstrated, |
| the analytical judgment and why it is the first | | | | these deductive judgments are as true as their |
| among the Classes of Truth. So, visit this blog for | | | | 'first principles,' unless it can be proven that man's |
| updates are posted everyday. | | | | reasoning powers are essentially invalid in their |
| The Analytical Judgments to Attain Truth | | | | operations. Man's conviction is, of course, that he |
| First of all, we possess analytical judgments, which | | | | can reason in a valid manner. |
| contain truths directly evident to the intellect | | | | Provided, then that man's reasoning powers are |
| through a comparison or analysis of the ideas of | | | | essentially valid, these mediate judgments derived |
| the judgment, without the aid of any immediate | | | | from 'first principles' possess universal, necessary, |
| sense-perception or logical reasoning. For instance: | | | | absolute truth. |
| 'The whole is greater than any of its parts'; 'a | | | | The Mediate Judgments as Results of Inductive |
| plane square encloses four right angles'; 'something | | | | Process |
| cannot be true and false at the same time'; 'it is | | | | The fourth class of truths is contained in mediate |
| impossible that a thing exist and not exist at the | | | | judgments which are the result of an inductive |
| same time'; 'everything must have a sufficient | | | | process generalizing the individual, concrete data |
| reason.' Such judgments, called 'first principles,' are | | | | of direct sense-perception into laws of a universal |
| immediately evident to the intellect by merely | | | | character. |
| analyzing the ideas contained in them, provided | | | | The generalizations and laws of experimental |
| the intellect knows what these ideas mean. They | | | | science are of this type. After careful |
| need to demonstration and no direct | | | | investigation and extensive experimentation the |
| sense-perception to verify them. | | | | intellect perceives the essential elements in a |
| If I know what a 'plane square' is and what a | | | | series of repeated phenomena and occurrences |
| 'right angle' is, a mere comparison of these two | | | | and then expresses the true cause in a definite |
| ideas will make it clear to the intellect that 'A plane | | | | judgment or law. |
| square encloses four right angles,' one in each | | | | It is not necessary for science to investigate |
| corner of the figure. Again, if I know what 'whole' | | | | every single case of the past and present; that, in |
| and 'part' mean, it is evident with similar axioms. | | | | fact, would be impossible. Since I have arrived at |
| Such principles are at the bottom of all | | | | knowledge of the essential elements of the |
| knowledge, and they are, as all admit, indubitably | | | | phenomenon in question, the law which the |
| present in our spontaneous convictions. | | | | intellect has formulated has a universal and |
| Axioms, like the Principle of Identity, the Principle | | | | necessary value and applies with equal force to |
| of Contradiction, and the Principle of Sufficient | | | | each and every phenomenon of that class. |
| Reason, are used, consciously or unconsciously, in | | | | An instance will make this clear. It was noticed |
| every act of reasoning and are considered to be | | | | that the boiling point of water is always +212 |
| universally, necessarily and absolutely true. | | | | degrees Fahrenheit at sea level. Taking this as a |
| The Immediate Judgments to Attain Truth | | | | starting point, scientists made a great number of |
| The second among the classes of truth are the | | | | experiments of boiling water at seal level, and the |
| immediate judgments containing truths which are | | | | result was in each case the same: water boiled at |
| derived from direct experience through internal | | | | +212 degrees Fahrenheit. |
| and external sense-perceptions. | | | | Thus the law was formulated by means of a |
| Here are examples: 'That lady waling along the | | | | generalization: 'The boiling point of water is +212 |
| street has a package under her arm.' 'That boy is | | | | degree Fahrenheit at sea level.' This being an |
| running.' 'I have a pain in my tooth.' 'I am thinking | | | | essential characteristic of water, it was not |
| and writing.' Such judgments refer to individual | | | | necessary to take every drop of water on the |
| concrete facts, events, persons, and objects. We | | | | globe to sea level and boil it; scientists know that |
| do not arrive at the truth of these judgments | | | | it will boil, because such is the nature of water. |
| through a mere analysis of the ideas contained in | | | | Every such law is a mediate judgment which |
| them. Take the judgment, 'That boy is running.' | | | | expresses a necessary and universal truth, based |
| On comparing the ideas 'boy' and 'running' alone by | | | | upon the Principle of Sufficient Reason and the |
| themselves, independent of experience, I cannot | | | | Principle of Causality. |