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Truth is [[inconcussible]]--forever exempt from all transient vicissitudes, albeit never dead and formal, always vibrant and adaptable--radiantly alive. But when truth becomes linked with [[fact]], then both [[time]] and [[space]] condition its [[meanings]] and correlate its [[values]]. Such realities of truth wedded to [[fact]] become concepts and are accordingly relegated to the domain of [[relative]] cosmic realities.[http://mercy.urantia.org/papers/paper118.html#3.time-spacerelationships]

Truth is [[inconcussible]]--forever exempt from all transient vicissitudes, albeit never dead and formal, always vibrant and adaptable--radiantly alive. But when truth becomes linked with [[fact]], then both [[time]] and [[space]] condition its [[meanings]] and correlate its [[values]]. Such realities of truth wedded to [[fact]] become concepts and are accordingly relegated to the domain of [[relative]] cosmic realities.[http://mercy.urantia.org/papers/paper118.html#3.time-spacerelationships]

The [[semantic field|meaning]] of the word '''truth''' extends from [[honesty]], [[good faith]], and [[sincerity]] in general, to agreement with [[fact]] or [[reality]] in particular. [http://m-w.com/dictionary/truth] The term has no single [[definition]] about which the majority of professional philosophers and scholars agree. Various [[theories]] of truth continue to be debated. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is [[Subjectivity|subjective]], [[knowledge relativity|relative]], [[Objective (goal)|objective]], or [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute]].  This article introduces the various perspectives and claims, both today and throughout history.

The [[semantic field|meaning]] of the word '''truth''' extends from [[honesty]], [[good faith]], and [[sincerity]] in general, to agreement with [[fact]] or [[reality]] in particular. [http://m-w.com/dictionary/truth] The term has no single [[definition]] about which the majority of professional philosophers and scholars agree. Various [[theories]] of truth continue to be debated. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is [[Subjectivity|subjective]], [[knowledge relativity|relative]], [[Objective (goal)|objective]], or [[Absolute (philosophy)|absolute]].  This article introduces the various perspectives and claims, both today and throughout history.

==Etymology==

==Etymology==

English ''[[:wikt:truth|truth]]'' is from [[Old English]] ''tríewþ, tréowþ, trýwþ'', [[Middle English]] ''trewþe'', cognate to [[Old High German]] ''triuwida'', [[Old Norse]] ''tryggð''. Like ''[[troth]]'', it is a ''[[:wikt:-th|-th]]'' nominalisation of the adjective ''true'' (Old English ''tréowe'').

English ''[[:wikt:truth|truth]]'' is from [[Old English]] ''tríewþ, tréowþ, trýwþ'', [[Middle English]] ''trewþe'', cognate to [[Old High German]] ''triuwida'', [[Old Norse]] ''tryggð''. Like ''[[troth]]'', it is a ''[[:wikt:-th|-th]]'' nominalisation of the adjective ''true'' (Old English ''tréowe'').

English ''[[:wikt:true|true]]'' is from Old English ([[West Saxon]]) ''(ge)tríewe, [[:wikt:treowe|tréowe]]'', cognate to [[Old Saxon]] ''(gi)trûui'', [[Old High German]] ''(ga)triuwu'' ([[Modern German]] ''treu'' "faithful"), [[Old Norse]] ''tryggr'', [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''triggws''. see [[Holtzmann's law]] for the ''-ww-'' : ''-gg-'' alternation.</ref>, all from a [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*trewwj-'' "having [[good faith]]".

English ''[[:wikt:\\true|true]]'' is from Old English ([[West Saxon]]) ''(ge)tríewe, [[:wikt:treowe|tréowe]]'', cognate to [[Old Saxon]] ''(gi)trûui'', [[Old High German]] ''(ga)triuwu'' ([[Modern German]] ''treu'' "faithful"), [[Old Norse]] ''tryggr'', Gothic ''triggws''. see [[Holtzmann's law]] for the ''-ww-'' : ''-gg-'' alternation.</ref>, all from a [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*trewwj-'' "having [[good faith]]".

Old Norse ''{{lang|is|trú}}'', means "faith, word of honour; religious faith, belief" Zoega (1910)[[http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/h442.php]  (archaic English ''[[:wikt:troth|troth]]'' "loyalty, honesty, good faith", compare ''[[Ásatrú]]''.

Old Norse ''trú'', means "faith, word of honour; religious faith, belief" Zoega (1910)[[http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/h442.php]  (archaic English ''[[:wikt:troth|troth]]'' "loyalty, honesty, good faith", compare ''[[Ásatrú]]''.

Thus, ''truth'' in its original sense is the quality of "faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, sincerity, veracity", [[OED]] on ''true'' has "Steadfast in adherence to a commander or friend, to a principle or cause, to one's promises, faith, etc.; firm in allegiance; faithful, loyal, constant, trusty; Honest, honourable, upright, virtuous, trustworthy; free from deceit, sincere, truthful " besides "Conformity with fact; agreement with reality; accuracy, correctness, verity; Consistent with fact; agreeing with the reality; representing the thing as it is; Real, genuine; rightly answering to the description; properly so called; not counterfeit, spurious, or imaginary."</ref>, and the narrowed sense "in agreement with [[fact]] or [[reality]]", in Anglo-Saxon expressed by ''[[:wikt:sōþ|sōþ]]'', is a secondary development coupled to the process of "[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]" in [[17th century philosophy]].<ref>Attested since the early 17th century. E.g., [[Shakespeare]] in ''[[As You Like It]]'' (5.4) has "If there be truth in sight, you are my daughter.";  [[William Prynne]] in his ''A briefe survay and censure of Mr Cozens his couzening devotions '' (1628) has "I haue here sufficiently euidenced the trueth of this Assertion."  

Thus, ''truth'' in its original sense is the quality of "faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, sincerity, veracity", [[OED]] on ''true'' has "Steadfast in adherence to a commander or friend, to a principle or cause, to one's promises, faith, etc.; firm in allegiance; faithful, loyal, constant, trusty; Honest, honourable, upright, virtuous, trustworthy; free from deceit, sincere, truthful " besides "Conformity with fact; agreement with reality; accuracy, correctness, verity; Consistent with fact; agreeing with the reality; representing the thing as it is; Real, genuine; rightly answering to the description; properly so called; not counterfeit, spurious, or imaginary."</ref>, and the narrowed sense "in agreement with [[fact]] or [[reality]]", in Anglo-Saxon expressed by ''[[:wikt:sōþ|sōþ]]'', is a secondary development coupled to the process of "[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]" in [[17th century philosophy]].<ref>Attested since the early 17th century. E.g., [[Shakespeare]] in ''[[As You Like It]]'' (5.4) has "If there be truth in sight, you are my daughter.";  [[William Prynne]] in his ''A briefe survay and censure of Mr Cozens his couzening devotions '' (1628) has "I haue here sufficiently euidenced the trueth of this Assertion."  

Relative truths are statements or propositions that are true only relative to some standard, convention, or point-of-view, such as that of one's own culture. Many would agree that the truth or falsity of ''some'' statements are relative: That the [[fork]] is to the left of the [[spoon]] depends on where one stands. [[Relativism]] is the doctrine that ''all'' truths within a particular domain (say, morality or aesthetics) are of this form, and entails that what is true varies across cultures and eras. For example, [[moral relativism]] is the view that a moral statement can be true in one time and place but false in another. This is different from the uncontroversial claim that people in different cultures and eras ''believe'' different things about morality: moral relativism is claiming that the moral facts themselves are different.  

Relative truths are statements or propositions that are true only relative to some standard, convention, or point-of-view, such as that of one's own culture. Many would agree that the truth or falsity of ''some'' statements are relative: That the [[fork]] is to the left of the [[spoon]] depends on where one stands. [[Relativism]] is the doctrine that ''all'' truths within a particular domain (say, morality or aesthetics) are of this form, and entails that what is true varies across cultures and eras. For example, [[moral relativism]] is the view that a moral statement can be true in one time and place but false in another. This is different from the uncontroversial claim that people in different cultures and eras ''believe'' different things about morality: moral relativism is claiming that the moral facts themselves are different.  

Relative truths can be contrasted with absolute truths. The existence of absolute truths is somewhat controversial, but is strongly asserted by [[Universality (philosophy)|universalism]]. Believers in absolute truth hold that  2+2=4 everywhere in the universe forever; likewise, if A implies B and B implies C, then A implies C for every entity, at every time, at any place.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} On a more local scale, for example, from the viewpoint of the microeconomist, the laws of [[supply and demand]] determine that the value of any consumable in a market economy is true in all situations; for the Kantian, "act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law" forms an absolute moral truth. They are statements that are often claimed to emanate from the very nature of the universe, God, human nature, or some other ultimate essence.

Relative truths can be contrasted with absolute truths. The existence of absolute truths is somewhat controversial, but is strongly asserted by [[Universality (philosophy)|universalism]]. Believers in absolute truth hold that  2+2=4 everywhere in the universe forever; likewise, if A implies B and B implies C, then A implies C for every entity, at every time, at any place.  On a more local scale, for example, from the viewpoint of the microeconomist, the laws of [[supply and demand]] determine that the value of any consumable in a market economy is true in all situations; for the Kantian, "act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law" forms an absolute moral truth. They are statements that are often claimed to emanate from the very nature of the universe, God, human nature, or some other ultimate essence.

[[Absolute truth|Absolutism]] in a particular domain of thought is the view that all statements in that domain are either true in all times and places or false in all times and places: none is true for some cultures or eras while false for other cultures or eras.

[[Absolute truth|Absolutism]] in a particular domain of thought is the view that all statements in that domain are either true in all times and places or false in all times and places: none is true for some cultures or eras while false for other cultures or eras.