Argumentative Essay: What Is Truth Is Relative?

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Truth. People use this word almost everyday. And the question “What is truth?” dates back before Galileo, Plato, and Aristotle. People have tried to unpack the meaning of this simple five letter word and yet it has grown and become more complex than ever. There are of course different opinion that people say are truths such as, “I like that color.” Other truths include facts such as, “There are 12 inches in 1 foot.” Then there are truths that people connect to their identity: race, gender, career, etc. People connect the word “truth” to all these subjects. When focusing on the actual definition of truth this doesn’t seem entirely the connect usage of the word. In today’s society truth is often seen as relative. It’s a relative word with a relative meaning. “To each their own truths,” has become our motto. But can truth be relative? Everyone sees the world differently and holds some values higher than others, but do those line up with the definition of truth? According to the Oxford dictionary the definition of truth is, “that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality; the quality …show more content…

In an essay that Galileo Galilei wrote to the Duchess Christina. The essay was written to show the dutchess the different discoveries in science and how they relate to religious beliefs. The main quote from this work that is being focused on is, “Two truths cannot contradict one another.” The statement he makes here highlights what he was writing about. Galileo was saying if it is truth than another truth cannot disprove it. Truth is proven, not debatable and can never be disproven. If it is truth than it is a fact and other facts (in this case new discoveries) cannot disprove what is real truth. Even though Galileo we don’t know whether the discoveries or religious beliefs he was arguing are correct the point is the philosophical statement he was making about truth. Once something is known to be truth, it will stay truth and is something to be trusted