Truth - An Attempt at Defining a Difficult Term.

In comments, Evanston Jew and I had an exchange about the meaning of Truth as we use it in describing the search for God and I realized that I had not discussed it in depth yet. In fact, I realized that I needed to fully define it for myself and thus clarify my thinking on it. It is one of the most important aspects of religion and in fact, Rambam begins his Mishne Torah (Hil Yesodei Hatorah) with a discussion (definition) of True Existent as Truth. I will therefore use that text as the basis for my upcoming discussion and the goal is to understand clearly these Halachot. As usual, the translation/paraphrase is mine. My comments or elucidations are in brackets.

א יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות, לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון

The foundation of all foundations and the [supporting] column of all knowledge is to “know” that there is “out there” [my translation of שם see Kessef Mishna ad locum] a First Existent.

I was always intrigued by these opening words and it is only when I pictured the imagery that Rambam uses in this opening of his MT that I realized what he was saying. A building rests on columns that are connected to the foundation. The foundation of the building is embedded in the earth that itself is suspended in the cosmos. That leads us to infinity of contingent existences which is incongruent. The only way we can resolve this incongruity is by “knowing” that there must be one non-contingent existent. The goal of everything that comes after this in the Mishne Torah is to train us so that we can “know” this. The word “know” is defined by Rambam in MN 1:50 as follows:

“Know, you who studies this my treatise, that knowledge [here I used Rav Kafih’s translation and also as suggested by Professor Nuriel, as opposed to Pines and Schwartz, who translate it as belief] is not the notion that is uttered. It is the notion that is represented in the soul when one holds it to be true [I used Prof Schwartz suggested translation here. Pines: when it is averred of it] that it is in fact just as it has been represented.”

The sense that I get is that the goal is to understand that in itself, why infinity of contingent existents is incongruous and at the same time why the existence of a non-contingent existent is the only solution to the problem. In other words, it is not enough to “believe” because we were told by prophets through their revelation that there is such an existent; we also have to be convinced rationally that it is the case. There is therefore no a priori approach. We accept by tradition but we have to prove it to ourselves independently.

“For belief [R. Kafih: knowledge] is only possible after a representation; it consists in the affirmation that the thing represented has its existence beyond the mind [in reality] exactly as it is conceived in the mind. If in addition to this we are convinced that the thing cannot be different in any way from what we believe [R. Kafih: know] it to be, and that no reasonable argument can be found for the rejection of the belief [R. Kafih: knowledge] or for the admission of any deviation from it, then the belief [R. Kafih: knowledge] is true.”

I purposely left in this last quotation both “belief” and “knowledge” because at this point in the process the two are very similar. If someone is convinced rationally that something is true, he truly believes it. We start with belief based on acceptance and we end with belief based on knowledge and conviction.

והוא ממציא כל הנמצא; וכל הנמצאים מן שמיים וארץ ומה ביניהם, לא נמצאו אלא מאמיתת הימצאו

He is the cause of all existence. All the existents from heaven to earth and all in between exist because of His True Existence. [There is a difference between True Existence and the truth that He exists – more about this later].

We are asked to convince ourselves rationally of the existence of God as the First Cause. We are also asked to prove to ourselves that God, as the only non-contingent existent is True existence. “True existence” is defined as non-contingent existence but also as a unique existent. There can only be one non-contingent existent by definition. Non-contingency is that Existent’s uniqueness.

Much has been written about Truth and almost every philosopher has addressed it and each one had his own understanding of what it means. One only has to take a look at Wikipedia on the word and there is enough there for a semester in college. I will however focus on it in the context of Rambam writings I quoted here.

We have here two separate definitions of truth. When we talk about human knowledge which Rambam defined in the quote above, truth is convincing ourselves that our mental speculation is true by proving that it is in conformity with our observations of reality. Our observation of reality is based on repetitiveness and constancy. For example, we assume that because the sun rises every day it will do so forever and based on that we develop a theory explaining what makes it do so. That leads us to an understanding of cause and effect and contingency. The word truth in this context is an adjective that describes the status of an apprehension, whether it is true or false and whether it conforms to reality. The sun itself is not true or false; it just is there. It came into existence at some point in time and may disintegrate at a later time and it is only true while it is here. Its truth is dependent on its being here at a certain time and in a certain place performing certain functions. In this example, the observation is true but both the observer and the observed are not true in themselves.

There are also things in the physical realm that we really do not know other than by induction. We never physically see certain entities. We just know they exist and have certain qualities because we observe their effects such as energy, atoms, black holes and gravity to name a few. These are only a few of such “realities” that meet the criteria laid out by Rambam as true knowledge “it is the notion that is represented in the soul when one holds it to be true that it is in fact just as it has been represented.” Here too truth is an adjective describing an apprehension while the observer and observed are not truth itself.

Many people believe this to be the only possible Truth. It is what some will argue is the only possible “rational” and empirically provable reality. However, it explains the chain of cause effect that we observe but it does not address the rational incongruity of there being infinite contingent existents. It is at this point that philosophy and metaphysics step in offering a solution to the incongruity. It tells us that there must be a non-contingent Existent that by definition is unique in His essence. This Existent is a singularity in its every aspect including essence and existence. That uniqueness in itself defines Him as the ultimate Truth with a capital “T”. Being non-contingent, He exists without depending on anything else by definition. That is the ultimate definition of Truth, a simple eternal [constant] unchanging Truth.

. [ב] ואם יעלה על הדעת שהוא אינו מצוי, אין דבר אחר יכול להימצאות. [ג] ואם יעלה על הדעת שאין כל הנמצאים מלבדו מצויים, הוא לבדו יהיה מצוי ולא ייבטל הוא לביטולם: שכל הנמצאים צריכין לו; והוא ברוך הוא אינו צריך להם, ולא לאחד מהם.

Should we entertain the notion that He does not exist, nothing else could exist. [Without a non-contingent entity, existence is incongruous]. Should we entertain the notion that nothing exists besides Him, He alone will be existent. [Should we entertain the notion that] every other existent is nullified He will not be nullified. [God’s existence is completely independent of whether anything existed at some time or still exists.] This is so because all existents need Him but He, the blessed One, does not need them or any particular one among them.

[ד] הוא שהנביא אומר "וה' אלוהים אמת" הוא לבדו האמת, ואין לאחר אמת כאמיתו. והוא שהתורה אומרת "אין עוד, מלבדו"כלומר אין שם מצוי אמת מלבדו כמותו.

That is the meaning of the prophet’s [Yirmyahu] “and Hashem Elohim is Truth”, He alone is the Truth and no other [is] Truth like His Truth. That is also the intent of the Torah “there is nothing more, except Him” meaning there is not “out there” a True Existent like Him other than Him.

God is the only Truth that is absolutely independent of anything else. He is the only True Existent. God is Truth itself.

Summarizing, there are two definitions of truth. The one used in our common parlance is an attribute for a statement about what is observable. The other, Truth, is a word we use to indicate the existence of a non-contingent existent – God. The former is a derivative of the latter where the latter is its paradigm.

Note: I decided to put up this post after much hesitation. I hope that I have advanced my own understanding of this difficult issue a little and sharing it with others the right thing to do. I am sure I am going to return to this many more times, as my thinking develops further.