Does a Universal Truth Exist?

[Sui Generis]

I am not a philosopher, nor have I read much philosophy, concentrating more on political theory. However, I have come to an uncomfortable conclusion, that either a universal truth doesn't exist, or humans can never know whether it exists. Can someone with a philosophy please clarify this?

 

[Death_Machine]

Here is a Universal Truth: idiots will cut & paste all over a a website & get all high & mighty about it while it is safe to hide behind their screen. Most of the referenced idiots would never have the balls to stand face to face with those with whom they disagree & besmirch. Particularly civilians who like to talk trash to veterans about military service.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

A universal truth exists. It's called reality.

Unless you mean absolute moral truth, then it gets iffy.

 

[Berzerker]

live and let live

 

[Neverwonagame3]

Do you mean a universal truth as in some "ultimate answer" or something like that, or do you mean it in terms of a truth that is not subjective?

 

[Bill3000]

e^(pi*i)+1 = 0

 

[Perfection]

The only universal truth is there are no universal truths.

 

[potatokiosk]

The only universal truth is there are no universal truths.

What he said, kind of. I can't answer the question without considering something to be a universal truth.

 

[Bigfoot3814]

People will always wonder whether or not there is a universal truth.

 

[Bill3000]

What he said, kind of. I can't answer the question without considering something to be a universal truth.

Second Law of Thermodynamics.

 

[Shekwan]

Everything the Pope says is a universal truth.

 

[warpus]

Let me chime in before BirdJaguar gets a chance to and say that a universal truth exists, and that it is unchanging.

Obviously.

 

[potatokiosk]

Second Law of Thermodynamics.

What does that have to do with what I said?

 

[Nylan]

If you're using a broad definition of truth, then certainly. Natural laws fit under that category I believe.

 

[Murky]

Yep, everybody poops.

 

[Shylock]

There is, it's called mathematics.

 

[Fifty]

First of all, WTH do you mean by "universal"? Do you mean "true for everyone"? Or "true across all logically possible worlds?"

I guess it doesn't matter, because in either case the answer is clearly "yes".

Usually when someone with no philosophy training comes to this conclusion, its usually just hyper-skepticism. First of all, hyper-skepticism is not a good position, because it doesn't properly understand the meaning of the word "knows". Second, even if hyper-skepticism were true, its merely a thesis about what we can know, not what propositions are true.

Let this calm your fears: the locution "x knows y" does not necessitate that x knows y beyond any shadow of a doubt whatsoever.

Maybe we don't know anything beyond any shadow of a doubt, but who gives a crap? We still know lots of stuff, because knowing something beyond a shadow of a doubt is not necessary for knowing it!

 

[plarq]

It's what we call "physics".

 

[Zulu Impi]

Props for the incredibly vague and "deep" thread but there are many universal truths in both science and mathematics.

 

[classical_hero]

The only universal truth is there are no universal truths.

How can there be one universal truth if you say that there is none, you are contradicting yourself with that statement.