What Is Truth - The Definitive Answer

https://youtu.be/nvaPmKQVIuQ

"How come Truth is such a slippery beast?" - Douglas Hofstadter

"If you find Truth you will become invincible." - Epictetus

• Misconceptions about truth: People often think that truth is defined as a belief, concept, philosophy, knowledge, theory, model, the domain of scientists or religious leaders, or that it must be logical and provable. They may also consider it irrelevant to everyday life—all of which Leo challenges as false.
• Relative vs. Absolute Truth: Truth is divided into relative and absolute. Relative truths are conceptual and exist in the mind, dependent on various factors, and include most things we consider certain. Absolute truth, however, is true under all circumstances, non-conceptual, and actual.
• Examples of Relative Truth: Statements like "the sky is blue", "the Eiffel Tower is in Paris", and "one plus one equals two" are cited as relative because they rely on contexts like location, time, symbols, interpretation, language, and the cognitive functions of the mind.
• Understanding Language and Cognitive Assumptions: Recognizing truths such as "the sky is blue" requires language and higher interpretative functions. Most humans take for granted assumptions like other beings' consciousness and understanding, leading to a narrow, human-centric view of truth.
• Contingency and Interpretation of Relative Truths: Relative truths are contingent upon various conditions and interpretations. For instance, "the sky is blue" depends on factors like the observer's planet, time of day, and even species, since not all beings may perceive color or even the concept of 'sky.'
• Correspondence Theory of Truth: This theory suggests that truths are what correspond with an external reality. Leo critiques it, indicating the gap between the raw existence of objects and our cognitive affirmation of their truth.
• Discovery of Absolute Truth: Leo shares a personal episode of realizing absolute truth while questioning the essence of truth. He describes it as a profound experience of present-moment being that arose when the conceptual notion of truth melted away.
• Absolute Truth as Present Being: Leo elucidates absolute truth as the entirety of the present moment, encountered in an ordinary yet extraordinary realization. It's suggested that substances like LSD can facilitate this awareness, but the experience is also accessible to all through determined exploration.
• Homework to Understand Advanced Concepts: Leo stresses the complexity of understanding truth and encourages listeners to actively engage in questioning and seeking the truth themselves, rather than passively accepting his explanations.
• Correspondence theory of truth: The theory that truth corresponds to reality and relies on symbols and concepts is flawed because it confines truth to mental constructs rather than acknowledging the distinction between experiencing something as real (such as the sky being blue) and the mental affirmation of that experience.
• Difference between experience and mental affirmation: It's critical to distinguish between the raw experience of reality (like the sky's blueness) and the cognitive layer we add to it (believing or affirming that the sky is blue). This distinction exemplifies the gap between second-order mental constructs (relative truths) and first-order experiences.
• Relative truths and their opposites: Relative truths, unlike absolute truths, exist within a duality framework, where for every truth, there is a corresponding falsehood. This binary view does not apply to the concept of absolute truth.
• Absolute truth as actual reality: Leo demonstrates that the actual existence of something (like one's hand or the room they are in) represents absolute truth. Absolute truth is just "that which is," encompassing all of reality and existence. However, he acknowledges the complexity in defining "isness" or existence itself.
• Existence as a prerequisite for truth: Leo equates existence with truth, and by extension, the actual state of reality at all points in space and time. He elucidates that knowledge of reality is just a part of actual reality, which includes everything and is synonymous with truth.
• Truth as the actual state of reality: Reality cannot be reduced to symbols or knowledge as it is the actual state of all "bits" or facts of existence, much like the state of all bits on a computer hard drive. Truth is not contingent on whether these bits are "on" or "off"; it encompasses all states and is independent of human knowledge or affirmation.
• Reality constructed by truth, not atoms: Contrary to scientific assertions that reality is made of atoms, Leo argues that reality is made of truth, which is a more fundamental constituent than particles. Understanding this requires a change in consciousness and can lead to epiphanies or awakenings.