Why should we seek and tell the truth? Does anyone know what truth is? Many are skeptical about the relevance of truth. Truth Matters endeavours to show why truth is important in a world where the very idea of truth is contested. Putting philosophers in conversation with educators, literary scholars, physicists, political theorists, and theologians, Truth Matters ranges across both analytic and continental philosophy and draws on the ideas of thinkers such as Aquinas, Balthasar, Brandom, Davidson, Dooyeweerd, Gadamer, Habermas, Kierkegaard, Plantinga, Ricoeur, and Wolterstorff. Some essays attempt to provide a systematic account of truth, while others wrestle with the question of how truth is told and what it means to live truthfully. Contributors address debates between realists and anti-realists, explore issues surrounding relativism and constructivism in education and the social sciences, examine the politics of truth telling and the ethics of authenticity, and consider various religious perspectives on truth. Most scholars agree that truth is propositional, being expressed in statements that are subject to proof or disproof. This book goes a step farther: yes, propositional truth is important, but truth is more than propositional. To recognize how it is more than propositional is crucial for understanding why truth truly matters. Contributors include Doug Blomberg (ICS), Allyson Carr (ICS), Jeffrey Dudiak (King’s University College), Olaf Ellefson (York University), Gerrit Glas (VU University Amsterdam), Gill K. Goulding (Regis College), Jay Gupta (Mills College), Clarence Joldersma (Calvin College), Matthew J. Klaassen (ICS), John Jung Park (Duke University), Pamela J. Reeve (St. Augustine’s Seminary), Amy Richards (World Affairs Council of Western Michigan), Calvin Seerveld (ICS), Ronnie Shuker (ICS), Adam Smith (Brandeis University), John Van Rys (Redeemer University College), Darren Walhof (Grand Valley State University), Matthew Walhout (Calvin College), and Lambert Zuidervaart (ICS).

Truth has always been a central preoccupation of philosophy in allits forms and traditions. Yet in the late twentieth century truth became suddenly rather unfashionable. The precedence given to assortedpolitical and ideological agendas, along with the rise of relativism, postmodernism and pseudoscience in academia, led to a decline both of truth as a serious subject, and an intellectual tradition thatbegan with the Enlightenment. Why Truth Matters is a timely, incisive and entertaining look at how and why modern thought and culture lost sight of the importance of truth. It is also an eloquent and inspiring argument for restoring truth to its rightful place. Jeremy Stangroom and Ophelia Benson, editors of the successful butterfliesandwheels website-itself established to "fight fashionable nonsense"-identify and debunk such senselessness, and the spurious claims made for it, in all its forms. Their account ranges over religious fundamentalism, Holocaust denial, the challenges of postmodernism and deconstruction, the wilful misinterpretation of evolutionary biology, identity politics and wishful thinking. Why Truth Matters is both a rallying cry for the enlightened vision and an essential read for anyone who's everbeen bored, frustrated, bewildered or plain enraged by the worst excesses of the fashionable intelligentsia.

Distinguish fake news from reliable journalism with this clear and concise handbook by New York Times best-selling author Bruce Bartlett. Today’s media and political landscapes are littered with untrustworthy sources and the dangerous concept of “fake news.” This accessible guide helps you fight this deeply troubling trend and ensure that truth is not a permanent casualty. Written by Capitol Hill veteran and author Bruce Bartlett, The Truth Matters presents actionable tips and tricks for reading critically, judging sources, using fact-checking sites, avoiding confirmation bias, identifying trustworthy experts, and more.

In an interview with Christianity Today in 2012, Ed Stetzer shared that according to Lifeway research among young adults who had attended church regularly for at least a year in high school, 70% stop attending regularly for at least a year between ages 18-22. However, 35% of these had returned to attending twice a month or more by the time they were surveyed for the study. This means that about 4 out of 10 kids leave the church and NEVER RETURN. Here is how leading experts describe our church kids today: They are unarmed and incapable of defending their faith. They possess a faith that cannot withstand the scrutiny of trials or intellectual questions. They have a shallow belief system. They lack a robust faith. They haven’t learned how to think. They are embarrassingly ignorant of our faith. Truth Matters is written directly to this audience, arming them with well-reasoned responses to the accusations that are most likely to appear in their lives, either as upcoming lecture notes and test questions or as inner qualms and questions. Things like: What gives the Bible any authority or credibility? Where is God in a world full of suffering? Why should Christianity be any more believable than any other religious system? And many, many more. Easy to read yet loaded with meat and substance, this book is a level-headed reaction to those who equate Christian faith with “blind faith,” even those whose subtle or stated goal is to separate students from their religious traditions. Readers will discover the kind of historical information and thinking skills that build a sturdy backbone of confidence in high schoolers and young adults, making them able to defend by “reasoned faith” what the Bible claims as truth. Loosely organized around the theological skepticism of New York Times bestselling author (and southern college educator) Bart Ehrman, this jam-packed counterclaim is a book that parents will want to buy for their kids, a book that youth and student leaders will want to work through one-on-one and in discipleship groups—a book that could prove a lifesaver for young minds and hearts everywhere.

In Truth Matters: Theory and Practice in Psychoanalysis, Shlomit Yadlin-Gadot offers an original construal of subjectivity as evolving from dynamic tensions between conflicting truths that inhabit and structure the psyche. The clinical endeavour is articulated in terms of unveiling these truths and allowing the multi-faceted nature of human experience to emerge. Yadlin-Gadot's notion of truth axes combines philosophical investigation with an in-depth inquiry of psychoanalytic theory as it relates these truths to basic human needs and developmental challenges, alternating self-states and unconscious processes. Detailed clinical vignettes illustrate these insights and enrich psychoanalytic practice with innovative technique. “This is a brilliant and original work that addresses a much-neglected issue in psychoanalytic thinking, the fundamental role of truth in psychoanalytic theory and practice. The author accomplishes this goal with panache and originality, in a style of exposition that is both accessible and illuminating. This book represents a major achievement in the annals of psychoanalytic scholarship.” Michael Guy Thompson, Author of The Death of Desire (Routledge) and The Truth about Freud’s Technique (New York University Press).

Drawing upon the richness and breadth of Jacques Maritain's thought, the contributors to this volume engage readers with philosophical essays about the search for truth in human life and civic engagement. The essays examine a broad range of topics, from those that are more properly theoretical, such as God, science, natural law, practical reason, education, and democracy, to those that are more practical, such as capital punishment, eugenics, friendship, love, and art. In each essay, the author implicitly challenges the claims of relativism and postmodernism, specifically the idea that there is no "real" truth and that what matters is merely the perspective of one's own frame of reference. The essays argue instead that theoretical truth-claims have practical consequences, that truth matters to those who are affected by it. In addition to the editor, the contributors are: Gavin T. Colvert, John A. D. Cuddeback, Raymond Dennehy, Bernard E. Doering, Desmond J. FitzGerald, Sarah J. Fodor, William J. Fossati, W. Matthews Grant, James G. Hanink, Katie Hollenberg, Gregory Kerr, James P. Mesa, Peter Pagan, Matthew S. Pugh, James V. Schall, S.J., Michael D. Torre, John R. Traffas, Cornelia A. Tsakiridou, Timothy S. Valentine, S.J., A. Leo White, Anne M. Wiles, and Henk E. S. Woldring. John G. Trapani, Jr., is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Humanities Division at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.

Truth Matters is the first full-length introduction to response-dependence, a topic that has become a main focus of interest for philosophers across a wide range of disciplines and subject areas.The response-dependence claim, in brief, is to provide a 'third way' between the realist (or objectivist) conception of truth as always potentially transcending the limits of human ascertainment and the anti-realist (or verificationist) case that truth cannot possibly transcend those limits since then we could never acquire or manifest a knowledge of it.While setting out the issues clearly and concisely, Norris also provides some relevant background history to this current debate, including discussion of its sources and analogues in Plato, Locke, Kant and Wittgenstein. His book offers invaluable guidance for student readers in search of a reliable introductory survey of the field. Among those with a more specialist interest it may sometimes provoke disagreement, as when Norris argues that the response-dependence approach often goes along with a disguised anti-realist bias and hence fails to make good on its 'third-way' promise. However, its combination of wide-ranging coverage with clarity of focus and depth of philosophical treatment will be welcomed.Key Features:*Clear, accessible account of some complex philosophical issues;*First book-length study of the response-dependence debate;*Informative discussion of its pre-history in philosophers from Plato to Hume, Locke and Kant;*Aimed at readers seeking a reliable, well-informed introductory account while relevant to those with a more specialist knowledge of the topic.

Newcomers to the church community need tools to navigate the Christian faith and a guide for connecting doctrine to real life. In a world that's increasingly relative, author Andrew Petiprin helps readers discover unchanging truth based on God's Word. Truth Matters shows how core tenants of the Christian faith were affirmed over the centuries ...

The claim once made by philosophers of unique knowledge of the essence of humanity and society has fallen into disrepute. Neither Platonic forms, divine revelation nor metaphysical truth can serve as the ground for legitimating social and political norms. On the political level many seem to agree that democracy doesn’t need foundations. Nor are its citizens expected to discuss the worth of their comprehensive conceptions of the good life. According to Rawls, for example, we have to accept that “politics in a democratic society can never be guided by what we see as the whole truth (...)”. (1993: 243) And yet we still call upon truth when we participate in defining the basic structure our society and argue why our opinions, beliefs and preferences need to be taken seriously. We do not think that our views need to be taken into account by others because they are our views, but because we think they are true. If in a democratic society citizens have to deal with the challenge of affirming their claims as true, we need to analyse the precise relationship between truth and democracy. Does truth matter to democracy and if so, what is the place of truth in democratic politics? How can citizens affirm the truth of their claims and accept - at the same time - that their truth is just one amongst many? Our book centers on the role of the public sphere in these pressing questions. It tries to give a comprehensive answer to these questions from the perspective of the main approaches of contemporary democratic theory: deliberative democracy, political pragmatism and liberalism. A confrontation of these approaches, will result in a more encompassing philosophical understanding of our plural democracy, which – in this era of globalization – is more complex than ever before. Because a good understanding of the function, meaning and shortcomings of the public sphere is essential to answering these questions, a good deal of the book addresses these issues. Historically, after all, the idea that citizens have to engage each other in discussion in order to determine the structure and goals of society, is connected to the rational ideal of a public sphere where conflicting views can be expressed, formed, and transformed. But hasn’t the collective decision making in which everyone participates on an equal footing turned out to be a deceptive ideal or a simple illusion? Not every individual in society has equal access to the podium. Furthermore, power, being an inevitable feature of the public sphere, seems to permanently endanger its democratic value. Moreover, the existence of this sphere depends on a specific ethos and particular public spaces where citizens are called upon to present themselves as citizens, as people taking responsibility for their society. It is not clear whether this ethos and these spaces exist at all, and if so, if they preserved their ascribed capacity for constituting ‘democratic’ truth? By answering these questions we expect to deepen our understanding of the relation between truth and democracy.