The First Principles

August

August 5, 2021

By B

The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

REASON — The sole way truth is developed (without an intervention by God (faith) or Nature (evolution))

How does an individual determine the truth of anything, even if it is only their subjective truth? Humans accomplish this task routinely. Isn’t this process called “reason”? If humanity agreed to the details of this process, might we also have the tool to obtain objective truth. Wouldn’t a shared reality emerge for any group that engaged in, collectively, a search for absolute reality? I believe it does.

Using their senses, humans observe. The human mind builds mental models to explain the observed. This is an innate skill. Isn’t the result (the mind’s mental models) also the mind’s subjective truth? Later, affirming sensory data alters or reinforces the models, and conflicting data, accompanied sometimes by an emotional reaction, dismantles or invalidates them. This skill is an evolutionary strength of the mind. These acquired models make possible prediction, because they are true to the mind. Responsive behaviors, like playing the piano, are likewise developed.

It thus seems axiomatic¹ then to state that:

A hypothesis should explain the observed for it to be an individual’s subjective truth—this being how the mind naturally works.
- This is a NECESSARY CONDITION for subjective truth

Yet, this is only subjective truth. There is sufficient evidence that an individual’s subjective truth is not objective or absolute truth. Specifically, humans are frequently wrong. Moreover, the mental models of humans vary. In other words, there can be many hypotheses (subjective truths).

So, I believe it is also axiomatic¹ to additionally state:

There can be only one TRUE hypothesis for it to be objectively true. I.e., testing and more data must prove all but one hypothesis true (The scientific method, generally).
- This is the SUFFICIENT CONDITION for objective truth;
- The parent bullet is also, in part, the process of reason (disproving hypotheses).

However, the immediately preceding statements are for objective truth only, and yet, any number of known and UNKNOWN hypotheses are possible. In fact, the UNKNOWN are essential for finding truth generally. Without it, the process collapses in on itself because at some point, always, no known conflicting hypotheses will exist and subjective truth will become objective and then, to the thinker, absolute truth. A person might believe they begin with absolute truth. UNKNOWN is the essential doorstop for an open mind. The UNKOWN hypothesis also makes it impossible for absolute truth to be known.

So, for reason, it is axiomatic¹ to additionally state:

For absolute truth, there can be only one TRUE hypothesis where an UNKNOWN number of hypotheses are possible. That is, all UNKNOWN hypotheses must be disproven for absolute truth.
- This is the SUFFICIENT CONDITION for ABSOLUTE TRUTH;
- This is reason in the remaining part: finding and disproving all unknown hypotheses.