John,
While truth is a challenging concept that has and will continue to be
debated by philosophers probably forever, we can and do as you say make
approximations and many would dispute even this. The point I was trying to
make is that we do not need to use the concept of truth to function. Courts
function of the principle of "reasonable doubt" and lasers are succesfully
used in construction.
I enjoy the challenge of the purity of the agrument but I am constantly
trying to find its application in the real world. Unfortunantly it is rarely
a smouth process and most often a period of unyielding frustration
occasionally broken by glimses of enlightenment.
Peter (01)
-----Original Message-----
From: ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ontology-summit-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John F. Sowa
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:59 PM
To: Ontology Summit 2008
Subject: Re: [ontology-summit] [Quality] What means (02)
Peter, (03)
We make approximations to what we believe is true for many
different purposes, but that doesn't affect the point that
the truth itself (whether we know it or not) doesn't change. (04)
> Does light travel in a straight line, "in truth" no, but for
> all purposes here on earth to say it does would be a true
> statement. (05)
Even that has to be qualified. When light moves from air to
water, it bends. As a result, a straight stick placed in
looks broken. And the naked eye can detect so-called "heat waves"
caused by the uneven bending of light when passing through air
at different temperatures. (06)
John (07)
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