Title On Truth

Author Harry G. Frankfurt

Year Published 2006

Kind of Book Philosophy/Essay

How strongly I recommend it 8/10 

My Impressions Nothing crazy here, but a nice little essay. He clearly broke down Spinoza's ideas on truth and love as well as offering some of his own ideas about why a love/respect for truth is vital.

Date Read June 2022

What question is the author trying to answer?

Why is truth important?

Why should we care about truth?

Practical Takeaways

  • Face what is true. Do not remain ignorant of the truth

  • Don't lie unless you can lie yourself into a way where the other person knows you're lying and they know you know they don't believe you

 

Big Ideas

  • In order to acknowledge that bullshit exists you must first acknowledge that truth exists

  • SP: because bullshit is by definition a kind of untruth

 

  • The statement that there is no such thing as truth is ITSELF a truth claim

 

  • When you make an assertion you implicitly assert that there is a correct assertion (and that you have just stated the correct assetion)

Therefore

  • The assertion that there is no objective truth is nonsensical

 

  • Taking account of what is true contains a lot of practical utility

  • Societies which don't take into account what is true fail/don't thrive/will eventually fail

 

  • There is an objective reality for people like Architects whose measurements/designs either work or don’t work

 

  • No one in his right mind would rely on a builder, or submit to the care of a physician, who does not care about the truth.

 

  • Even when there is disagreement about exactly what happened there is at least a consensus on the general facts of what happened in a historical event

 

  • People love whatever causes them a source of joy-Spinoza

  • People love what helps them to continue in existence and become more fully themselves-Spinoza

  • Truth helps people continue in existence and become more fully themselves-Spinoza

Therefore

  • A person who despises or is indifferent to truth is a person who despises or is indifferent to his life-Spinoza

 

  • Facts are facts regardless of what we believe about them

 

  • It is nearly always more advantageous to face the facts with which we must deal than to remain ignorant of them

 

  • Hiding from reality does not reduce its danger or threats (it increases them)

 

  • Remaining blissfully ignorant of something may be the "best"/most pleasurable solution in the short term, but learning the truth is the "best"/most beneficial solution in the long term

  • Lying alienates the liar from others

  • Alienating yourself causes loneliness (even if you are physically in the company of others)

 

  • There is a lot of intimacy in knowing what is on another persons mind

 

  • We don't question a lot of the things our friends tell us

Because

  • We assume that our friends aren't going to lie to us

 

  • When someone we trust lies to us we go a little bit crazy

Because

  • When someone we trust lies to us we are forced to question our ability to accurately judge who we can trust

 

  • There is a deep intimacy shared between two people when one has lied, the other knows they have lied, and the liar knows that they know, and the other knows that the liar knows they know