Mathematical certainties. A tangent to a circle will always be perpendicular to the radius between the tangent and the center of the circle. The sum of a triangle's angles will always equal 180. The list goes on. While it's true that there are many instances where one must consider the relativity of an object or measurement, certain quantities will always have the same value. Absolute truth. Side: Absolutely
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Math is a model/ system of thought, not something like an object. Many consistent system can be said to have something which is true in all cases, the question then becomes if that system is correct. Math is a proper modeling tool for many things, but is it a proper model for the universe(we still need a " theory of everything" ) and if it is/will be then does the model actually represent the universe or is it something related to it in a similar manner as Newtonian mechanics is to quantum mechanics; a simplified/net effect version which works in certain cases. It may be that those cases where the model doesn't work have yet to be discovered, you don't really know and thus there is always some form of uncertainty. Also, I know the sum of a triangle's degrees can be more, less or equal to 180 degrees in non-Euclidean geometry. If i remember correctly I read somewhere that if a triangle is drawn on a curved surface then it has a different number of degrees. I can look it up to make sure. Side: Relative to what perspective?
If a definition states that something is so, it is so. If there is no definition withholding the situation from opinion, then opinion, even if not thought of, makes Absolute Truth not so, as you can never fully find the cause of everything- the chain reaction causing the situation would be endless, and you couldn't find the truth behind everything, because you have no evidence to support, say, an apple falling from a tree, 3000 years ago, which could cause a murder today. Ripple Effect. Side: If not withheld by definition
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If something is true by definition would it be correct to say it is hypothetically true, then the question becomes: does the hypothetical situation match an actual one? Something may be absolutely true in a hypothetically/theoretical system; but does that really make it absolutely true. Can we really ever have an actual circle in reality or only in description/math/definition? to create an allegory: It may be true that a character in a story did something, but is the story true? Is this two different types of true? Side: Relative to what perspective?
Upon analyzing Descartes' "Meditations on First Philosophy" in my philosophy class, I can certainly say "Cogito Ergo Sum (I think, therefore I am)." However, I believe this to be the only absolute truth about the world. No matter what else you think of, you could be dreaming or imagining. The only think we know is that we exist. Side: Absolutely
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It doesn't matter what "I" truly am. I could be nothing more than a massless, colorless, shapeless mind or I could be an organism. I could be dreaming or I could be awake. The bottom line is that if I can think about my existence, then I truly exist. Something that doesn't exist can't think about it's own existence because there is nothing there to do the thinking. Side: Absolutely
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Because as much as we enjoy personifying truth for poetic purposes, truth is not really a noun. Truth is an adjective, something not expressed well even in the english language as the word "truth" implies that it is a noun. But truth is a descriptive word. You cannot search out "truth" and find it somewhere because it is not corporal, but you can find "the truth" about something... and then discover again that you did not know the whole story and search again for "the truth." The important thing is that truth in itself cannot be sought, but the truth ABOUT something can. To make this less ethereal, it must be applied. If I want the truth about about what water is made of, I might search and discover it is 2 parts Hydrogen and one part Oxygen. Have I discovered truth or the truth? Maybe. It's naive to believe I have the whole truth, because there may be something I don't know or understand about water, but that doesn't diminish that fact that weather I know it or not, water is made of something. Thus, truth exists, but we may not, and probably do not know it. If we're talking about a grand cosmic truth such as, does God exist, one person may believe that he does, and someone else may believe that he doesn't. Both people might believe they have the truth, so someone might say that truth is relative, or that truth is in the eye of the beholder, but this is very egocentric and untrue. God either does or does not exist, independent of what anyone believes. This can be concluded using any similar analogy. Truth is absolute, but to believe we have or know it, or that what we believe is truth and what someone else believes isn't, is foolish, as truth is almost certainly too complicated for either of us. Side: Absolutely
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Is it possible for a car to simultaneously travel 5 miles an hour, and 60 miles an hour ? It is if your using two different reference points. All reference points are arbitrary, if there were to be an “absolute” velocity the best candidate for a reference point would be the center of the universe; thus even “absolute” velocity would be relative. Now generalize out into everything, and you'll understand what is meant by “all truth is relative, even this truth” Side: Relative to what perspective?
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Velocity is speed in a given direction, not to or from a point. This means that the speed of light in a vacuum is indeed a constant. Also, mathematical absolutes are absolutes regardless of what mathematics is. Can a circle contain any less than 360 degrees? No it cannot. This does not change, regardless of position, because in order to be a circle it must have 360 degrees exactly. Your argument is akin to saying that an inch is indefinite because rulers can bend. Side: Absolutely
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speed is a change in position, a change of your coordinate points. Math is like a story. It may be true that a character in a story did something, but is that story true? Are these two different types of true? Can we ever really have a circle in reality? Side: Relative to what perspective?
2+2 = 4 in a base 10 number system. I am my mother's son. Create debate's URL is http://www.createdebate.com Side: Absolutely
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If the statement, “There is no absolute truth.” is true, then the statement denies that which it seeks to affirm. It is self-refuting and is therefore not truth. If the contradictory statement, “There is absolute truth.” is true, it affirms the principle of truth. According to the law of the excluded middle term, two contradictory propositions cannot be simultaneously true or false. One is true and the other is false. And given the axiomatic nature of my argument the only thing that remains is the question: What are the absolute truths of the universe and all that is therein? Any takers? Side: Absolutely
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Is it true that a car, any random one; moves at both 5 miles a hour and 10 miles a hour(even if its moving at 0 miles per a hour relative to the ground)? if so, is this possible under the law of non-contradiction?(A is not non-A) I claim that the law of non-contradiction has its limits, and is only valid under certain circumstances. If it was valid in all situations then the car would be like light in a vacuum, constant speed no matter your reference point correct? I must admit my argument by analogy breaks down when one mentions light, I do think it still illuminates an important point. Side: Relative to what perspective?
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