Truth

(Samantha Morse #1)

    On the surface, truth is a very basic word meaning the property of being in accord with fact, reality, or actuality. However, if you look deeper than the surface, truth is a very interesting concept, and William James’s definition of truth goes deeper than most people ever would’ve thought to go on the topic of truth. 

In the book Sick Souls Healthy Minds, John Kaag explores James’ pragmatic view that truth is not static or objective, but rather made through its functional, practical, and lived consequences. James says, “Truth happens to an idea. It becomes true, is made true by events. Its verity is in fact an event, a process: the process namely of its verifying itself, its verification. Its validity is the process of its valid-action.” (SSHM, 134)

For some backstory on pragmatism, pragmatism was founded by William James and is a philosophical approach and practical mindset that evaluates theories, beliefs, or ideas based on their practical application, success, and real-world consequences rather than absolute, abstract principles. It emphasizes “what works” to solve problems, prioritizing action-oriented experiential learning. 

James’s pragmatic view of truth has three cornerstones: truth is a process, truth is useful, and truth is verified through experience. 

James’s first cornerstone is truth is a process. It is not a fixed quality an idea holds, but a dynamic, ongoing event. He says, “Truth happens to an idea.” (SSHM, 134) An idea is not inherently true because it exists, it becomes true when it is verified, confirmed, or validated through experience. Truth isn’t just something being correct, but is the process of an idea “leading” us to fruitful connections with other parts of experiences. 

An example of truth being a process is scientific discoveries. The understanding of scientific ideas such as the atom or the solar system has greatly shifted over centuries. The improvement of knowledge, equipment, and time spent on researching these topics has developed over time, and through this process, new discoveries have been found, which changes the truth of these matters. 

The second cornerstone of James’s view of truth is that truth is useful, or that the value of a belief is measured through its “cash value”. This means that truth is measured through variables like how well it works, how useful it is, and what substantial difference it makes in someone’s life. James argues that, “the truth is only the expedient in the way of our thinking.” Again, to be a true idea, the idea must be able to be “assimilated, validated, corroborated, and verified”. If a belief aids in adapting our life to reality, it is true. 

James’ pragmatic choice also suggests that choosing to believe in ideas, such as free will or hope, that make life better, even if they cannot be proven, offers a better life over choosing to believe things that are rational and “useful”. 

The concept of an idea being made true by its "cash-value" or its ability to positively affect our lives reminds me of people’s relationship with religion. From my view, people choose to believe in their God as true because of the positive effect it has on their lives. Their belief gives them something to lean on, pour out their troubles to, and potentially change their life positively so they dedicate their life to their religion. This also reminds me of James’ suggestion of how people choose to believe in ideas that cannot be proven, all because it offers a better way to live than choosing to believe rational and tangible things. 

The third cornerstone of James’s philosophy on truth is that truth is verified through experience. Despite being subjective, truths are anchored to real-world outcomes and are validated by their effectiveness and consequences in the real world. James says, “Sometimes it is best to let experience have its say, and reform one’s theories on the basis of what is actually said.” (SSHM, 141) Instead of blindly believing something that someone tells you worked for them as true, you have to try it out for yourself. What is true for someone else will not always be true for you and your situation. 

Kagg illustrated this in chapter six of his book, Sick Souls Healthy Minds, when he tells the story of the birth of his first child. He talks about how he and his wife attempted to learn everything there was about parenting before his child arrived by researching and reading books. Through this, he was attempting to form “a stable picture of what it was supposed to be like”, (SSHM, 140) but it turns out these stereotypes from his research couldn’t accommodate the actual experience of being a father. Some things that he learned from a parent in the books didn’t work for his child. This is a visual representation of how truth is subjective to each person and how your own personal truths are anchored to your own personal experiences.

Personally, diving deeper into William James’s pragmatic view on the idea of truth really made me reflect deeper into what truths from others I have just taken at face value and believed to be true vs what I have truly discovered to be true myself according to James’s three cornerstones to truth. Ever since presenting about the topic of truth for my final presentation, I have found myself reflecting on the three aspects of truth whenever I discover something new, and have found myself reflecting on why I believe specific things I have always believed in are true. If everyone in the world implemented James’s ideas of defining truth into their thought process when introduced to something new, the world would be an exponentially different place today. 

I challenge you, the next time you have a moment to breathe during finals week or while you are drifting off to sleep at night, to think of something you have always believed to be true without second guessing, and reflect on why? Does believing in this truth make your life better? Is it an ongoing process? Has it been verified through experience? Has it been verified through your OWN experience?