truth

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truth State or condition of being true. A ‘truth’ is something that is deemed to be genuine, an accurate representation of reality or a statement that accords with proven, provable, or observable facts. Two famous theories for determining the meaning of truth are the correspondence theory, which defines it as “that which corresponds with facts”, and the coherence theory, which defines it as “that which conforms with what we have come to accept”. Other theories, espoused by pragmatists, take a utilitarian view of truth, defining it as “that which it is good, useful, or helpful to believe”. This evaluative concept is also important in logic, where either of two truth-values can be assigned to a statement, describing it as either true or false. See also epistemology; ontology; pragmatism

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