Guiding Questions

• Is truth absolute, relative, or constructed?

• Why do humans seek truth — and why do we so often disagree on it?

• Can justice exist without truth — or truth without justice?

The Problem of Truth

Truth is one of philosophy’s oldest riddles.

Is it what matches reality? What most people believe? What works best? What a powerful few declare? Or something else entirely?

From Socrates to Simone de Beauvoir, from courts of law to everyday conversations — we are constantly navigating truth claims, and deciding who and what to trust.

But truth is not just a fact. It’s also a moral and political challenge.

Philosophical Perspectives

Socrates

Truth must be questioned through dialogue. “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Plato

Truth is an eternal form — higher than appearances. The world we see is a shadow of deeper realities.

Aristotle

Truth is saying what is, is — and what is not, is not. It must match reality.

Immanuel Kant

Truth must be universal — valid not just for me, but for everyone, through reason.

Simone de Beauvoir

Truth is not given — it must be created through human freedom and ethical responsibility.

Hannah Arendt

Political lies are dangerous because they erase reality. But truth can also be uncomfortable — and requires courage.

Truth and Justice: Forever Entangled

Injustice often begins with a lie.

• That some people are less human

• That a war is necessary

• That suffering is inevitable

• That history can be erased

And yet, truth alone cannot bring justice.

Facts do not heal. Reality must be reckoned with — and acted upon.

Justice, then, is the moral response to truth.

A Final Thought Experiment

Imagine a society where everyone always tells the truth — but no one has compassion.

Now imagine a society where people are kind — but truth is constantly manipulated.

Which society is more just?

Can either truly flourish?

Lifelong Tools for Pursuing Truth

• Philosophical humility — Accept that you don’t know everything

• Critical thinking — Question all claims, including your own

• Dialogue — Seek understanding, not just victory

• Courage — Speak the truth even when it’s dangerous

• Curiosity — Let wonder guide your questions

• Compassion — Use truth to build, not to destroy

Reflect and Discuss

• Has this course changed how you think about truth?

• Can “your truth” and “my truth” both be valid?

• What will you do with the truths you’ve uncovered?

Suggested Readings

• Plato – The Republic (Allegory of the Cave)

• Immanuel Kant – Critique of Pure Reason

• Hannah Arendt – Truth and Politics

• Michel Foucault – The Archaeology of Knowledge

• Simone de Beauvoir – The Ethics of Ambiguity

• Tiger Lyon – Notes on Philosophical Justice (to be written!)

“Justice without truth is blind. Truth without justice is empty.

Between the two stands the philosopher — holding both in tension.”

— Tiger Lyon