According to psychological statistics the goal of science and psychology is to know what is true. They teach that the way of knowing what is true is by applying statistics and the use of the Scientific
Method. There are 3 main ways or methods of knowing:
Authority: Which is based on some other person's ideas or beliefs. Can be based on tradition or trust of a person or expert.
Rationalism: This method is based on reason and/or logic. It is the assumption that if the premises are true then the conclusions are true.
Intuition: This is based on our beliefs, faith, hunches, and feelings of what is true. There is no evidence that is required and conflicting evidence is just discarded.
But the scientific explanation of truth requires that the Scientific Method is applied to test truth:
1. Empirical: based on experiment that can be repeated to get the same result.
2. Rational: it must be logical, and go along with known facts.
3. Testable: that the idea in question can be verified.
4. Parsimonious: that the results are the least complex explanation with the fewest assumptions possible.
5. General: it should apply to a variety of related circumstances, not just the one that is being examined.
6. Tentative: the results are open to revision and replacement if a more accurate explanation is developed.
7. Rigorously Evaluated: constantly evaluated in lew of new evidence.
Thus, according to science and the experts this method of testing truth is preferable to belief, common sense, rational explanation and logic. This might explain why truth is so fluid and ever changing. But shouldn't truth based on whatever method just remain true because it is true?
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