virus: Maxims: the universe and truth
David McFadzean (david@lucifer.com)
Thu, 20 May 1999 09:11:41 -0600
The universe consists of all and only real things. Something is real
if its pattern is manifested in matter-energy embedded in space-time.
This would include things like memes, but implies that there are some
ideas that have referents that don't exist. We can easily conceive
of and talk about things that don't exist and aren't in the universe
(e.g. galaxy-sized orange dolphins).
Truth is a property only of representations (models, assertions,
maps, statements, portraits). The truth of a representation depends
on its meaning. Its meaning depends on its effect. Its effect
depends on the context. Therefore the truth of a representation
depends on the context. Absolute or objective truth exists only
if you take something as a representation of itself. I'm not sure
why anyone would want to do that, but there it is. (At least it
might give you some common grounds for discussion with someone
that insists that absolute truth exists.)
The truth of a representation is a measure of how well it does
its job as a model (correspondence theory). How well does the
map describe the territory? How well does the portrait capture
the essence of the subject? This is a metaphysical definition of
truth. However we can only judge the truth of a representation
by how well it fits with other representations we believe to be true
(coherence theory). Does the assertion contradict anything else we
think is true? What if our interpretation of the purpose and intent
of the representation is mistaken? This is the epistemological
definition truth. I hope I have shown that the correspondence
theory and coherence theory are orthogonal, and in fact,
complementary.
--
David McFadzean david@lucifer.com
Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/
Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/