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Krys C

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What are 10 things YOU know to be true?

I was interested and intrigued by Sarah's '10 things you know to be true' list exercise, particularly with the pattern she observed in hearing others; that you would continuously see items exact and opposite to your own, items you've never heard of, or thought about before in exactly that light.

I'm fascinated by our definitions of what we consider to be 'truth', and the disputes between our definitions.

So I propose we post a couple lists of our own here, and experience our agreements (and disagreements), learn some new ideas and lines of thought. Personally, I think it best to write your own list BEFORE reading the ones posted here to avoid influence ;)

I hope a couple people will be interested in participating in this miniature project. And, hey, if you see something in someone's list you'd like to ask about, or learn more about, or debate. . .we now have the TED conversation platform to make that possible.





My list:

1. These are the most exciting times in which we could ever hope to be alive which have already occurred.
2. Too often, we allow inertia to control our actions.
3. Everyone should travel.
4. 'Because that's the way things are' is not a valid reason.
5. Whenever you say 'I had no choice', you're lying.
6. It is possible to have an honest and even pleasant relationship with someone you do not like.
7. Loving someone or something heart and soul does not necessarily make it good for you, or them, or it.
8. There are ideas and inventions yet to come which will make into reality what we consider to be fantasy today.
9. Everyone has at least one story worth hearing.
10. My truth is not final.

Related Talks:
Topics: curiosity poetry sharing truth
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      Cory Martin

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      May 2 2011: I have a problem with #1

      Do you have a way around the self-defeating nature of relative truth?
      Saying that all truth is relative is a non-relative statement.
      Also do you believe there is no objective truth and that people do not have the means to discover it, or do you believe that x proposition can be both true and false at the same time or at different times?

      Sorry I'm not bashing your views or anything I just tend towards the absolutist/hardline/moderate skepticism side of the debate and interested in your respose :D

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          Cory Martin

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          May 3 2011: Sorry if I was if my scentences were confusing in anyway but no the counter-argument to relativism I was attempting to express was a logically self defeating statement that resides in relitivisms core argument. Basically relativism contends that all truth is relative and that there is no such thing is an absolute statement/law/universal or maxim or that any absolute statement/universal/law or maxin is false or is not the only truth. In turn does this not make the core reletavist proposition (that ALL absolute statements are false) false by it's own definition? My appologies if that was hard to follow. Conciseness has never been my forte.

          Secondly I agree with you about falsifiability and I assume you are using that argument under the same conditions of Karl Popper.

          However, I do contend your final statement that "x proposition can be both true and false at different contexts and times. This statement justifies almost anything as culturally relative. For example, William Wilberforce put forward a bill for the abolition of slavery twice, first it was rejected, then it was accepted. A culturally relative condition Wilberforce was wrong in opposing slavery in the first place but was subsequently right when the bill was accepted. I just do not understant how ,logically, a proposition can be both true and false.

          Another example: The world was once believed to be flat and under the context of the time (and your condition) the people of the world were correct in believing that the world was flat, this was the truth. However, when people migrated to the belief that the world is round somehow belief in the world being flat would be false.
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      Thomas Pisarchick 10+

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      May 2 2011: What is the counter for the argument that every argument has a counter?
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        Steve Frazee 500+

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        TED AttendeeTEDx Organizer
        May 2 2011: I love your question Thomas!

        All life is a paradox, except the part that isn't.
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          E G 10+

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          May 3 2011: that's very very right : all life is a paradox.

        • Michael M 30+

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          May 4 2011: Wait! All relativism is relative and all absolutism is absolute right? Yes paradox, but even more than that. I do honestly belive that both of those categories are inherently false. Things do change as Pab points out, there is truth that is finally true. We understand as humans what we understand. However that doesn't make it true, only understandable. Truth is out there. It does exist outside of my own understanding of reality. Living in the paradox is not easy, but it is finally put, very satisfying.
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        E G 10+

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        May 3 2011: Thomas :....... the argument itself

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