Exam 5: The Search for the Truth

What does it mean to be rational, and why should someone try to be rational? Your essay should link rationality with the three theories of truth explored in this chapter. Specifically, it should address how the concept of rationality incorporates coherence and pragmatic approaches to truth, as well as a revised version of the correspondence theory of truth. It should discuss the meaning and import of relativism, especially the simplistic version of relativism, which says that truth is subjective: In what respects is relativism true? In what respects false? It should address the intellectual and practical motivations a person might have in being rational.

According to Hume, when we observe two billiard balls colliding,

The concept that "75 x 3 = 225" seems to be true

One implication of Foucault's claim that truth is relative to culturally determined forms of discourse in which problems are set and truths are presented is that

Today, the term science tends to be limited to those questions that can and must be answered by reference to experience and extrapolations from experience.

The German philosopher Jürgen Habermas believes that rationality is not imposed on us by the powerful, but rather something we develop and cultivate in conversation with one another.

What is rationality?

What is David Hume's argument against our supposed knowledge of the principle of universal causality?

W hat are the two main categories of true statements?   Give one example of each.

The "two-worlds assumption"

If rationality means "thinking and acting in accordance with reason," then a person can be rational

It's common to regard science as the most authoritative form of knowledge and as the royal road to truth about the world.   But when you begin to think more carefully about science, the picture gets more complicated. Write an essay in which you explore what it means to call science a form of knowledge. Your essay should address kinds of truth; the relations between observation, hypotheses, and theory; the theory-dependent nature of some facts; the challenge of understanding how scientific theories can be true in any sense; the strengths and success of science; and the creationism-science debate.

Tautologies like "Boys will be boys" seem to be true, even though they don't tell us anything about the world.

Necessary truths, such as "2 + 2 = 4," are

By tying rationality to the coherence of our knowledge and lives too closely, we run the risk of

If you accept the "two-world assumption," you are vulnerable to skepticism.

Scientists appeal not only to observed facts but also to

Explain what Kant means by saying something is a synthetic a priori truth.   Give an example. ​

The statement "The cat is on the mat" is true no matter what conventions guide our use and interpretation of the words cat, is, on, and mat .

It's often stated that we should "seek the truth." Write a fictional dialogue in which two (or more)people attempt to understand whether and why this is so. The dialogue should address the meaning of "truth," exploring rationalism, empiricism, theories of truth (correspondence, coherence, pragmatic), rationality, and the notion of relativism. It should grapple with the value and importance of the pursuit of truth: what areas of life depend on seeking the truth? What would change if we ceased to believe in this value? Your interlocutors can approach the issue cooperatively, as a joint inquiry, or can try to persuade one another about the best approach to understanding truth. You might also stage the dialogue in class as an oral presentation, or make a video of it.