Concepts of Relative Truth

The Monist ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack W. Meiland ◽  
Keyword(s):  
ULUMUNA ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-394
Author(s):  
Fadhilah Khunaeni

Spirituality for Seyyed Hossen Nasr is an inner reality that becomes a religious central in Islam. It is the esoteric dimension hidden in the reality of exoteric Islam. That view on spirituality brings Nasr to the philosophical thought that cannot be separated from religious metaphysical doctrine. Nasr argues that philosophy is more than just a ratio but also the activity of intellect that can reach the meta-cosmic nature to find the essence of truth namely the universal and eternal truth that lies behind the physical and relative truth. The philosophical efforts to find this truth are a combination of the optimizing potential of reason and intellectual intuition. Nasr refers to ḥikmah or wisdom as a kind of philosophy that combines logic and intellectual intuition. That philosophical view brings Nasr on a dualistic view of nature which not only has a cosmic dimension as such but also has a meta-cosmic dimension. This dualistic view is his fundamental reason in formulating the concept of metaphysical cosmology as a solution to the crisis of modern science that has caused a variety of ecological damage due to the secular vision.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20414/ujis.v20i2.812


Author(s):  
Ihor Ohirko ◽  
Zinovii Partyko

The problem of the truth of statements is considered. This study had the goal to develop a logical theory that would allow considering the context (the paradigm) from which would depend on the truth of the statement. For the development of such a theory, called the logic of relativity, the following methods of research are used as abstraction, analysis (traditional), synthesis, deduction, formalisation, axiomatisation, logical method. In order to develop the logic of relativity, it is expedient to use the achievements in the area of situational logic. Under the situation, it is proposed to understand two circumstances (time and space) and a condition that creates a context (paradigm) statement. Specifies the modal values that these three parameters can acquire and examines different types of situations. In order to write statements in the logic of relativity, a form of the statement of statements is proposed in the language of extended symbolic logic. For the theory of the logic of relativity, a set of four axioms is proposed and a series of laws. In particular, it is indicated that the values of the assertions in the logic of relativity are the following five estimates: truth, relative truth, relative is absurd, unclear, uncertain. Some theorems of the logic of relativity are proposed. A number of examples of texts in the natural language are given to interpret the statements of the logic of relativity. It is indicated that the proposed apparatus of the logic of relativity should be regarded as a kind of modal logic. The difference in the logic of relativity from situational logic is that it considers the factor of movement (motion) of statements in time, space and environment conditions, which was not considered by situational logic. The logic of relativity should be used wherever it is necessary to take into account the possibility of moving allegations regarding time, space and environment of conditions. One of the most important conclusions of the study is that in the logic to the standard values of truth (true, probably true, false, uncertain), it is expedient to add another value: relatively true (and accordingly: relatively false).


2019 ◽  
pp. 138-180
Author(s):  
Douglas Allen

Ever since 9/11 in the US and 26/11 in India, terrorism has been a central concern. Gandhi is generally assumed to be of little value when confronting terrorism today. At best, he is irrelevant; at worst, he is complicit and contributes to the crisis since he opposes necessary violent responses. This essay argues that while Gandhi does not have all of the answers for dealing with terrorism today, he provides us with a complex analysis essential for understanding and responding to the multidimensional structural crisis. After analyzing the nature and meaning of terrorism, we focus on the following topics: Gandhi’s interactions with terrorists; his means-ends analysis and his short-term and long-term preventative approaches to terrorism; his analysis of absolute truth and relative truth in approaching terrorism; and his general analysis of the status of “the other” in transforming our relations with violent, terrorizing, and terrorized others.


2019 ◽  
pp. 60-85
Author(s):  
Douglas Allen

The Bhagavad-Gita is Gandhi’s guide to daily living. Scholars and Hindu followers of the Gita have found Gandhi’s readings and commentaries of karma-yoga and especially of a nonviolent Gita surprising, inadequate, and a hermeneutical disaster. What distinguishes Gandhi’s interpretation of karma-yoga is his emphasis on the karmic world of relative truth. What is really remarkable is Gandhi’s interpretation of the central message of the Gita as a gospel of ahimsa. How can Gandhi justify such a seemingly bizarre claim? I examine usual interpretations of this claim that one must not take the Gita literally, but must instead read and interpret it as highly symbolic, mythic, allegorical text. More significantly, I attempt to analyze Gandhi’s approach and dramatic nonviolent interpretations by regarding the Gita as a dynamic open-ended text that is always contextualized and involves a key, creative, insightful hermeneutical move of greatest relevance today.


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