I tell you the truth

Truth
(Aletheia)

I was initially interested in the word “truth” because when reading Homer’s Iliad I noticed that many of Nestor’s speeches were prefaced with the words “I tell you the truth”. This struck me because it seems that the phrase was very common in the oral traditions of antiquity, but it is not something that you hear in modern times. So I wanted to find out what truth met for the Ancient Greeks and why they used the word in the manner that they chose.

Unlike today, truth, or Aletheia as the Ancient Greeks called, is a noun that most commonly occurred with verbs associated with speaking. For instance, “to tell”, “to hear”, or in Homer’s Iliad “I tell you the truth”. It literally meant to become unhidden or unforgotten and came from the word letho or lanthano, which means to escape notice or to cause to forget. The letter “a” at the beginning of the word classified it as the negatory of the word.

We see usage of truth in many ancient Greek writings and interestingly enough there were many different views and opinions about the meaning and function of the word. Homer used “truth” to contrast the telling of a lie or withholding information. Plato did not agree with the Sophists view that truth is an “extreme form of relativism”, meaning that two people can view the same event very differently, one false and the other true. Plato, in contrast, viewed truth as a “contrast to appearance and change”. He stated that if truth and false were relative than anyone could say that something was false, and so it was therefore false. Falsehood was deception, a concealment of reality in Plato’s mind. Aristotle’s view is probably the closet to what is agreed upon among modern day scholars. Aristotle breaks down truth as follows. First, in order for something to be true it must have a falsity. This leaves only propositions as having the ability to be true. Second, these propositions must have logical conditions. In other words, giving a statement that is true (the earth is round) denies the opposite (the earth is not round). Finally, the proposition must relate, or be supported with facts.

The word truth in the modern era has become even more convoluted than it was in antiquity. Modern scholarship breaks it up into theories; “Truth in Logic”, “Truth in Mathematics”, and there are three times as many philosophers with their own views. However, I would argue that today we don’t use and/or hear the actual word “truth” very often. Obama used the word “true”, but not “truth”, twice in his inaugural address. Our modern day judicial system uses the word anytime witnesses are brought to the stand, which is a similar usage as in Homer’s Iliad. The word “truth” has been replaced by facts. As long as facts and reputable sources are provide it is not necessary state that something is the truth.

Cites:
Jan Wolenski- Aletheia in Greek thought until Aristotle- Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 127:339-360 92005)
Thomas Cole- Archaic truth- Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica, Nuova Serie, 13, 1983, pp. 7-22
Anthony C. Thiselton- Truth. In The New international dictionary of New Testament theology. Vol.III. edited bhy Brown Colin. Exeter: Paternoster press 1978. Pp.874-902
http://www.formalontology.it/aletheia.htm- History of Truth: Aletheia in Greek Thought from Homer to Hellenism.