True to Life

by Lynch, Michael P.

• ISBN13: 9780262622011
• ISBN10: 0262622017
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-05
• Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE

Summary

Why does truth matter, when politicians so easily sidestep it and intellectuals scorn it as irrelevant? Why be concerned over an abstract idea like truth when something that isn't true -- for example, a report of Iraq's attempting to buy materials for nuclear weapons -- gets the desired result -- the invasion of Iraq? In this engaging and spirited book, Michael Lynch argues that truth does matter, in both our personal and political lives. Lynch explains that the growing cynicism over truth stems in large part from our confusion over what truth is. "We need to think our way past our confusion and shed our cynicism about the value of truth," he writes. "Otherwise, we will be unable to act with integrity, to live authentically, and to speak truth to power." True to Lifedefends four simple claims: that truth is objective; that it is good to believe what is true; that truth is a goal worthy of inquiry; and that truth can be worth caring about for its own sake -- not just because it gets us other things we want. In defense of these "truisms about truth," Lynch diagnoses the sources of our cynicism and argues that many contemporary theories of truth cannot adequately account for its value. He explains why we should care about truth, arguing that truth and its pursuit are part of living a happy life, important in our personal relationships and for our political values.

Author Biography

Michael P. Lynch is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut and the author of Truth in Context: An Essay on Pluralism and Objectivity and True to Life: Why Truth Matters, both published by the MIT Press.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(6)
Part I Cynical Myths	7	(52)
Truisms about Truth	9	(12)
The Conversation-stopper	9	(1)
Truth Is Objective	10	(2)
Truth Is Good	12	(1)
Truth Is a Worthy Goal of Inquiry	13	(2)
Truth Is Worth Caring about for Its Own Sake	15	(4)
Good Ideas and Bad	19	(2)
Is the Truth Unattainable?	21	(10)
Nightmare	21	(1)
A Map of the World	22	(5)
Safety	27	(4)
Is Truth Relative?	31	(14)
Man Is the Measure	31	(1)
Simple(minded) Relativism	32	(3)
Truth as Power	35	(6)
Relativism without Nihilism	41	(4)
The Truth Hurts	45	(14)
Dangerous Knowledge	45	(1)
Exceptions That Prove the Rule	46	(5)
Context and Significance	51	(3)
Questions and Answers	54	(5)
Part II False Theories	59	(58)
Truth as a Means to an End	61	(14)
Round and Round We Go	61	(2)
The Right Tool for the Job	63	(3)
Why (Classical) Pragmatism Doesn't Work	66	(2)
A More Coherent Suggestion?	68	(2)
Differences That Make a Difference	70	(5)
Truth and the Scientific Image	75	(26)
Naturalism and Human Values	75	(2)
Truth as What Science Tells Us	77	(6)
Mind as Map	83	(5)
Moore's Problem	88	(3)
Naturalism as Nihilism	91	(2)
The Motivational Tractor-beam	93	(2)
The Possibility of Pluralism	95	(6)
Truth as Fiction	101	(16)
Analogies	101	(1)
Nietzchean Lessons?	102	(5)
Minimalism	107	(10)
Part III Why Truth Matters	117	(62)
Truth and Happiness	119	(28)
A Personal Question	119	(1)
Know Thyself	120	(8)
Caring about Truth	128	(3)
Integrity	131	(5)
Happiness	136	(7)
More Questions, More Answers	143	(4)
Sweet Lies	147	(12)
Liar, Liar	147	(6)
Sincerity	153	(6)
Truth and Liberal Democracy	159	(20)
We Are Not Lying	159	(1)
The Social Value of Truth	160	(2)
Truth and Rights	162	(12)
The Silence of Slavery	174	(5)
Epilogue	179	(4)
Notes	183	(18)
Index	201