On Truth and Falsity

          The Reality that the Skeptics cannot Avoid

The skeptics contend that because different persons have different responses to their environment, that no one can tell what the true nature of reality could be. They contend that because some people can take poison without hurt, and some can endure hardship and pain much better than others, and that different persons just respond to their environment in different ways, then that proves that no one can know that which is real. The skeptics seem to believe if reality exists, it has to be constant and unvarying for every person, and therefore, every person would respond to reality in the same way. The skeptics were right to assert that every person lives in a different environment, that every person is an individual with individual fingerprints, and as modern science has discovered, individual DNA. In other words, every individual comprises different systems which causes each one of them to have different responses to their environment based on their genetics, the way they were raised, and the influences of the society in which they live.

But none of that has anything to do with reality. Reality consists in however a person responds to his environment. How does a person think and act, and what does a person choose to do? If a group of persons design and build a square tower, then that tower is really square. If a healthy person tastes honey that is sweet, then that honey is really sweet because that ordinary sensation adds to the overall knowledge that humans need in order to make progress toward a better society for all. If a sick person has the real sensation of "bitter" when he tastes honey, that false system does not contribute to the advancement of real knowledge. Reality is something which every person advances toward, and which every person already experiences. Persons who respond to their environment by devising systems that harm others possess a greatly diminished realty because they misuse their knowledge of reality. Persons who try to devise systems that will cause others to care about the welfare of their fellow humans, and thereby become better persons themselves so that humanity as a whole will become better, possess a much better grasp on reality. When Socrates argued with the Sophists, he tried to get them to realize that they needed to be good and moral persons who cared about others instead of  just wanting to win arguments. This is what all good dogmatists try to do. Dogmatists try to raise the consciousness of all humans to a better reality where all humans can live together in peace and harmony.

The existentialists are right. Everything depends on what every person chooses to do with their lives. And every person should be honest enough to take the responsibility for what they do with their lives. The person who devises harmful systems that hurt others should manfully take his punishment. The person who devises systems that try to help others becomes a better person themselves and should take joy in his attempt to bring everyone into a higher reality. A lack of knowledge and wisdom is a diminished reality. Reality is a progression toward better lives for all humans and that requires real knowledge.

Reality consists of taking the real sense objects and thought objects that one experiences and formulating them into real and useful systems that benefit others. If sense objects and thought objects were not real, then that progression would be impossible. Unreality consists of misusing real sense objects and thought objects to formulate false systems that cannot advance real knowledge. Unreality can be deliberate as when a person formulates harmful systems, or it can be accidental such as mistakes in arithmetic. But humans never directly experience unreality. Humans only experience true and real sense objects and thought objects that they can formulate into true systems or false systems. When humans discover that a system is false, they use the real and useful idea of nothing to recognize that it is false and indirectly recognize that it is unreal so that it can be usefully discarded, but they never directly experience unreality. Humans cover unreality with the idea of nothing.

When the skeptics called the dogmatists a "self-loving class of men," they judged them as being arrogant. pb.OP p. 43. Whenever a person makes a judgment, they cannot avoid considering that system to be real. A system cannot be anything else than that which it is judged to be. Every judgment has to be truly real or truly false. The skeptics judged the dogmatists to be the system called "arrogant" and nothing else. The skeptics assumed a reality in their judgment. But in making this judgment, the skeptics actually devised a false system because the good dogmatists do not consider themselves to be better than others. They only devise true systems that help others devise their own true systems. Yet, in their formulation of their false system, the skeptics could only use true and real sense objects and thought objects. "Self-loving" is real. "Class" is real. "Men" are real, Not only that, but some people are really "arrogant." For all of their supposed suspension of judgment as to what is real and unreal, the skeptics cannot avoid formulating false systems that they consider to be real and which always comprise real words that have real meanings.

On Truth and Falsity

                Systems of Speculation and Opinion

When God created humans, He gave them a limited consciousness and intelligence. That means humans know very little. But God also created humans in His image which means He created humans to be good and loving people. Genesis 1:27. When humans fell into sin, the Devil added spiritual death to the beings of every human which causes them to sin, to do evil, and to disbelieve in God. Genesis 2:17. Humans inevitably sin because of the power of temptation that comes from the evil that happens to be a part of their natures. But some humans allow their evil natures to dominate their good natures, and those humans often become very cruel and even murderous. And there are some humans who become even worse than that. Some humans do not practice cruelty and evil, but they write philosophies that attempt to cause humans to despair that God is good, that He does not exist, and that humans are on their own in their attempts to live together in peace and harmony. But these types of humans also know that when they teach that life is meaningless, or that humans have to create their own meaning to life that always happens to be merely a material meaning, they know that that message will cause a feeling of emptiness in human life and an inability for humans to ever find a way to live together in peace and harmony. These types of philosophers have allied themselves with the Devil in his attempt to utterly destroy God's best creation, the human race. These types include the skeptics, and such dogmatists as Nietzche, Marx, Darwin, and Freud.

But the good nature that God puts into every human can never be utterly destroyed because God can never lose anything He has ever created. Ecclesiastes 3:14; Psalm 111:7-8. The goodness that God has created humans to be causes humanity to search for the truth which has to be spiritual as well as material. In areas of that search where humans can never attain spiritual truth because it is just to great for them to understand, God has supplied His Word to teach the absolute spiritual Truth to humans even though they will never be able to understand most of it. Romans 11:33. But God has not only revealed Himself in His written Word, He has revealed Himself in His material creations as well. Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 1:18-23. Because of the goodness that God has put into the hearts of all humans, humans have never given up on their search for the truth. In the early history of humanity, when God had revealed His written Word to the Israelites only, the good nature in humans raised up dogmatic philosophers who invented systems of speculation and opinion in their search for the truth. They got a lot of wrong ideas, but they should be commended for that because they were trying so hard.

Some of the dogmatic philosophers actually came to the conclusion, in their own way, that God had to exist. Aristotle concluded that there has to be a first mover that itself cannot be moved. That can only be the power of God. Plato speculated that perfect Ideas must exist on which all imperfect objects and ideas have been based. Perfect Ideas can only exist if there is also a Perfect Mind.

The history of the human race has demonstrated that humanity has progressed from barbarism to civilization. Humans have invented laws which govern societies which, if they are obeyed, cause humans to live in peace and harmony with each other. Most of these societies were ruled by cruel tyrants who themselves obeyed no laws, but humanity progressed anyway. The science of medicine has greatly advanced and so has the science of education. Humanity has even advanced to the establishment of free societies ruled by laws which restrain humans from hurting each other but which also allows each individual human the freedom to express themselves and to use their imaginations to invent many different true systems which benefit their fellow humans. This freedom allows humans to invent very good systems such as better houses, education for every child, automobiles, air conditioners, and many others. God made all of this progress possible because of the good nature that He created humans to be.

But the evil philosophers have not given up either. They still try to convince humans that they need tyrants who will completely control them, even their minds and the way they think. These evil philosophers actually desire to stop human progress altogether, reduce humans to despair, and contribute to the Devil's attempt to utterly destroy God's good natures that He has put into every human. Many people have fallen for their false philosophical systems, but because of stubbornness and excessive pride, they still cling to them when they should realize that they are useless and harmful and should be usefully discarded.

Even modern science has arrived at the conclusion, for those scientists willing to admit it, that the extremely fine tuning of the universe that allows life to exist, and because of certain discoveries made in quantum mechanics, that an Intelligent Consciousness has to exist.

But all of human progress that human have the ability to cause always starts with systems of speculation, opinion, and theory. Humans seek to fill the unknown with certain knowledge. But in those areas of spiritual truth to high for humans to reach, God has supplied them with His absolute, revealed Truth which is the Living Word of God. John 14:6. 

On Truth and Falsity

               A Reality Exists even for the Skeptics

The skeptics claim that no difference between truth and falsity, reality and unreality, can be made about any appearance. Yet, they do admit that appearances occur to humans. pb. OP p.234. The opposite of appearances can only be the system, "no appearances whatsoever." Therefore, the skeptics have a sure truth that appearances transcend "no appearances whatsoever." The skeptics belie their own claim that truth can never be separated from falsity.

The skeptics have other ideas that they consider to be true. They consider all attempts by the dogmatists to search for truth to be absurd. This has to be a judgment they make. That means the word "absurd" has a definite meaning to them. Anything that is definite has to be true. That means "absurdity" has to be a true thought object to them. pb. OP p.227.

The skeptics consider any logic and reason used by the dogmatists to be useless and invalid. But they consider their own forms of logic and reason to be useful in making the judgment that no difference between truth and falsity can ever be discerned. They consider their own forms of logic and reason to be true systems of judgment. Even the skeptics cannot avoid making what they consider to be true judgments about appearances.

The skeptics also admit that they become hungry and thirsty, and that that is nature's guidance. pb. OP p. 23. If nature can guide, then nature has to be real. Nature itself has devised true systems of hunger and thirst so that humans will eat and drink in order to sustain their lives. Nature encompasses everything that exists in creation. This means that God, who created nature, has provided humans with the experience of every sense object and thought object that they can turn into meaningful words so that humans can formulate true systems for the increased knowledge, wisdom, and well being of all humans. Humans can also use those true and real words to formulate false systems, but humans can also use the real idea of nothing to recognize those false systems so that they can be usefully discarded. Only reality appears to humans. Falsity only pertains to the false combinations of true and real sense objects and thought objects. Every impression on human consciousness has been experienced, and every experience proves itself to be true and real. Practical systems that improve human life are the tests of their reality.

Where then does unreality appear? The opposite of reality has to be the system, "no appearances whatsoever." Conscious humans never experience the system of "no appearances whatsoever." The closest that a conscious human can come to that system is when a person is in a coma. But even in a coma, a person still clings to reality through the sub-conscious experiences of the true and real systems of heartbeat and breathing. For this reason also, there can be no such thing as a mindless zombie because a zombie would sub-consciously do whatever it does. But if consciousness dies when a physical body dies, then a dead person can have no conscious experiences, and therefore, even a dead person cannot have the experience of "no experiences whatsoever." This condition can only mean that unreality never appears even though humans can obtain an indirect idea about it when the idea of nothing indicates the existence of a false system. The opposite of unreality can only be reality. All of this put together can only mean that consciousness is absolutely necessary for the establishment of reality, and reality is absolutely necessary for the establishment of consciousness. Whether reality is idealistic in nature or realistic in nature really makes no difference. "All consciousness is consciousness of something," as Jean Paul Sartre so aptly put it.

Unreality then means the same as nonexistence. If the universe were a singularity before it burst into existence, then it had to have been in a state of "no appearances whatsoever." Therefore, an Infinite Consciousness had to be present to burst the universe into appearances and into reality when the so-called big bang occurred.

On Truth and Falsity

                        The Truth in False Systems

The skeptics often compare two completely different systems. They compare mirrors of different shapes that reflect distorted images with the different shapes of the sense organs of animals that they conclude must distort images as well. Mirrors of different shapes do provide distorted reflections when humans look into them, but these systems serve a useful purpose. They provide amusement and entertainment for humans who enjoy seeing distorted images of themselves. All systems that have a useful purpose can only be true and real systems. Illusions, which are always false systems, are usually useless and equal to the idea of nothing. But humans can make exceptions to this rule. Illusions are false systems, but when a fiction writer writes about unicorns in fairy tales, he treats them as being real so that his story will entertain his readers. When humans use illusions in this way, they can actually create true and real systems that serve a useful purpose.

But the skeptics reason that because animals have differently shaped sense organs, then appearances must be different for each animal, and therefore, no one can ever tell what true appearances could be. But this must be false reasoning because the skeptics can never experience what animals experience. Yet, even if different animals do possess different appearances, all of which are different from human appearances, nevertheless, the skeptics do not consider that because animals survive and even thrive in their habitats, that means that God has created each animal with its own calibrated set of appearances to facilitate its conformity to its environment and its chance of survival. In such a case, every set of appearances to each animal would be a true and useful system for that animal.

The same is true for humans. God has created humans in His image but with limited intelligence and free will. Genesis 1:27. This means that God calibrated the appearances that humans possess with their ability to grow from babies to adults with the intelligence and free will necessary to learn how to be good humans and cooperate together to build better societies. Humans who are born with distorted appearances do not learn how to be healthy humans in their minds. Humans who acquire distorted appearances in their minds because of false systems in their environment as they grew up often fail to become good humans. Since clear appearances facilitate the development of good and useful humans, then all clear appearances to humans must be true and real. Humans can possess distorted appearances in their minds caused by false systems in an unhealthy environment, but nevertheless, all distorted appearances and false systems always comprise real and true appearances that have been formulated into false systems, like mistakes in arithmetic. Even distorted images reflected by differently shaped mirrors always take the forms of true and real shapes such as curved or narrowed. That which humans never directly experience is unreality. pb. OP p.30.

On Truth and Falsity

                    The Skeptics Distort True Systems

The skeptics contend that because animals come into being in different ways, then no one can ever tell what is the real source of life. In a manner quite similar to that of the modern evolutionist, they supposed that filthy conditions produced insects. Evolutionary theory contends that life originated from some warm pool of water with just the right chemicals in the distant past. But the dogmatic scientist, Luis Pasteur, discovered that life only comes from life. This fact demonstrates that the dogmatists search for the truth, while the skeptics and modern evolutionists become content with invalid suppositions. All invalid suppositions are false systems. Modern biology has demonstrated that life happens to be far too complicated to have ever arisen on its own in some distant pool of warm water. The real aim of the skeptics and the evolutionists is to get rid of any idea that God created life. Many modern biologists secretly admit that the theory of evolution cannot be true. Yet, excessive pride prevents most of them from usefully discarding this false theory.

The skeptics further contend that because animals are born in different ways and have different shapes of sense organs, then they must perceive sense objects in different ways, and since they do, then no one can tell what is the real view of appearances. But the skeptics actually have no way to tell how different animals perceive sense objects. That happens to be just another false assumption. But a better assumption would be that God created each animal with their own specialized sense perceptions that will benefit each animal's survival.

The skeptics consistently confuse true systems with false systems. A healthy person can only be a true system. But jaundice in a person distorts that person's perception and causes that person to perceive the color white as yellow. Both "white" and "yellow" are true and useful colors, but the distortion in vision caused by the jaundice replaces the "white" with "yellow," which makes that perception a false system. The same happens to be true of the person with bloodshot eyes who sees everything as "red." Even though both true systems and false systems always comprise true and real sense objects and/or thought objects, nevertheless, some systems are true and real while others are false.

If a person sees the letters in a book as golden after gazing long at the sun, then that person has engaged in a false system that distorts his true vision.

The skeptics assumed that some animals emit light from their eyes so that they can see at night. With that kind of settled but false assumption, the skeptics demonstrated that they were unwilling to investigate to find the true systems of light and sight. If the skeptics had had their way, no progress in human knowledge with the betterment of human life would ever have been possible.

The skeptics admit that jugglers by adding a small amount of extra matter into their performances, can distort the appearances of sense objects and cause false systems to appear. They could cause the colors copper and black to appear where the true colors were. But both colors "copper" and "black" are true and real colors. All false systems occur as a distortion of a true system even though every sense object and/or thought object added or subtracted from the true system can only itself be true and real. Every false system is like a mistake in arithmetic such as 2+3=6 where every sign and number can only be true and real. Humans can see false systems designated by the useful idea of nothing so that false systems can be usefully discarded, but humans never see unreality itself. pb. OP ps. 27-29.

On Truth and Falsity

                                Only Reality Appears

The skeptics claim that there has to be a difference between appearances and reality. They also claim that humans only possess appearances and that reality can never be found. They believe that if reality exists at all it must be hidden behind appearances. Since they also believe that reality is impossible to find, they really believe that reality does not exist at all.

But God would never supply humans with appearances that were not the same as reality. That would be a form of deception, and God never lies except to His enemies. Titus 1:1-2. In addition, God would never need to hide reality. God has calibrated human consciousness to be conscious of experiences as reality in both sense objects and thought objects. Humans cannot be conscious of anything except reality. Unreality is that which is hidden from human consciousness. Humans can formulate false systems which indicate nonexistence, but humans must use the real idea of nothing to indicate nonexistence. Nonexistence itself never appears to human consciousness.

For all their skepticism, the skeptics dogmatically assert their believe that God does not exist. pb.OP p.26. Yet, these skeptics are perfectly willing to live in a civilized society made possible by the laws and rules laid down by dogmatists for the purpose of constraining humans to live in peace and harmony with each other. In other words, the skeptics tacitly admit that someone has to make the rules in life if humans are to attain a better existence. God makes the rules of life so that humans can enjoy peace and prosperity if they obey those rules. Exodus 20:1-18. One would think that if the skeptics were true to their doctrine, they would do whatever they felt like doing and pay no attention whatsoever to any rules. Sextus Empiricus was a physician. Yet, he must have ignored the fact that when he prescribed medicine for a patient to recover from his sickness, he was being a dogmatist. Many skeptics and atheists exist in the world today. Yet, for all their perversity, they all follow some little god who lays down the rules that they obey.

One of the examples that the skeptics use as evidence for their claim that humans will never be able to discern the difference between reality and unreality happens to be that a square tower can look round from a distance, and therefore, no one can ever tell if the tower is really square or round. pb. OP. p.26. But in making this claim, the skeptics confuse two separate and different systems of observation. The first system is, "Close to the tower makes it look square." The second system is, "Distance from the tower makes it look round." Both systems comprise sense objects and thought objects that are true and real. Yet, the first system is true and real, and the second system is false. The second system is false because it subtracts the real sense object called "close" and replaces it with the real sense object called "distance." Distance from the tower distorts the appearance of the shape of the tower, but replaces the distortion with the real thought object called "round." In both systems, all that appears to an observer is true and real, and yet, the second system is false just as 2+3=6 is false. An observer can make the judgment that the second system is false by his use of the idea of nothing that indicates its falsity, but the unreality of the distortion of the tower never appears to his consciousness. The distortion was replaced with the real idea of "round." When a person is close to the tower, he observes not only the "squareness" of the tower, but he indirectly also observes all of the systems that went into the creation of the tower. The tower was designed and built to be square. Therefore, the true and real system can only be that, "The tower is square." 

On Truth and Falsity

                      The Uses of the Idea of Nothing

 A person goes to a cafe expecting to meet his friend Pierre at the cafe, but his friend is not there. The system is "Meet friend at cafe." The system changes to "Pierre not there." The word "not" means the absence of Pierre. Pierre still exists somewhere, but his presence at the cafe equals nothing. This means the word "nothing" can be used to exclude a sense object or a thought object from any particular system. All sentences are systems of meaningful words. A man thinks about the systems he desires to use to build his house. He considers bricks, but then he changes his mind and decides to use only lumber to build his house. His system becomes "Lumber but not bricks." He uses his idea of nothing to exclude bricks from his systems of building his house. The human stream of consciousness uses the idea of nothing constantly every day in forming many of the decisions humans make. "I will do this and not that." "I will go there and not to the other place." "I will eat this and not that." Humans can use the idea of nothing to consider a particular sense object or thought object to be equal to nothing as far as formulating a particular system is concerned.

Humans also use the idea of nothing to indicate the nonexistence of a particular system. A man tells his friends that he saw a ghost. His system is "I saw a ghost." His friends deny that he saw a real ghost because ghosts do not exist. Their system is "Ghosts do not exist." His friends may claim that he is lying or that he had an hallucination or a misapprehension, but he did not see a real ghost. If the man was lying, then his claim equals nothing. But if the man had an hallucination or a misapprehension, then he actually saw a thought system comprised of real thought objects. For instance, "He saw a white mist with a human shape." Every thought object in his system can only be real because he learned them from past experience. "White" is real. "Mist" is real." "Human" is real, and "shape" is real. The only thought objects he put into his system were real because he derived them from past experiences. Some may object that thought objects cannot be real, but if consciousness can be compared to a camera and film, then a picture taken by a camera and the film can only be as real as the film itself. The man recalled his past experiences of real sense objects as real thought objects to form his system called a "ghost."

As a universal rule, humans always formulate systems or observe systems composed of real sense objects and/or thought objects derived from experience. The fact that sense objects and thought objects can be formulated into useful systems means that they can only be real. They cannot be unreal because unreality never appears to consciousness. All of the thought objects that the man observed that composed the system called a "ghost" were real, and yet, "ghosts do not exist." The ghost was only a false system. But where is the falsity? All of the thought objects in the appearance of the "ghost" were real, but the system of judgment that, "The ghost did not exist" simply means that the real and useful idea of nothing was used to indicate that the system called a "ghost" equals nothing even though every thought object in that system had to be real. The idea of nothing has meaning. It can indicate that the nonexistence in false systems always happens to be due to the falsity of the combinations of real sense objects or thought objects that always compose false systems. All false systems comprise real sense objects and/0r thought objects. Only reality appears to humans. Unreality never appears.

Therefore, all sense objects and thought objects have to be real in their appearance and their meaning. All useful systems composed of real sense objects and thought objects also have to be real because they also all have a useful and real meaning. All false systems also have a real meaning. They all mean nothing. The real and useful idea of nothing is used by consciousness to indicate the nonexistence of all false systems as systems. The idea of nothing can only be real because it has meaning, but nonexistence itself that adheres to all false systems has no meaning whatsoever because it never appears to consciousness. Mathematics can again be used to illustrate this universal rule. 2+3=6 is a false system even though every sign and number in it has real meaning. This false system really means nothing which also means that the useful idea of nothing indicates the useful knowledge that this system is false. Humans need to know the real difference between that which means something and that which means nothing. False systems have no meaning except that indicated by the idea of nothing. False systems never have any usefulness. This fact can only mean that nonexistence never appears to intelligent consciousness. Since nonexistence never appears to consciousness, then that fact can only mean that all that does appear to consciousness must be useful and real, even the idea of nothing. The real idea of nothing proves useful because it can indicate the uselessness of false systems.

The third use of the idea of nothing is that it indicates space between objects in sense and thought experience. But the idea of nothing and the space between objects is not exactly the same thing. When a person sees sense objects, he sees through nothing to the objects in the distance. He never directly sees the nothingness. Space is not nothing. Space is always distance. In the stream of human consciousness, as a person continuously thinks about ideas and systems of thought, he puts a space between each thought and system of thought just as one uses the space bar on a keyboard. He may not forget his former thoughts. He simply puts them into the distant past. Even if a person pushes a rock with his hand, a space will exist between the inertia of the rock and the feeling of force exerted by his hand. Space always exists between consciousness and its sense and thought objects. But humans possess the useful idea of nothing even though humans have never derived that real idea from sense experience.

Consciousness can only be conscious of that which is real. Sense experience cannot be the only form of experience. Because every sense object and thought object is useful to consciousness and has meaning, then every sense object and thought object has been experienced, even the idea of nothing. So how did consciousness ever obtain the real idea of nothing? If, behind limited human consciousness, there exists an infinite field of ideas and thought objects, then human consciousness could have obtained the real idea of nothing as a gift from that field. If that field were finite, it would have to have emerged from nothingness, which is impossible. In order for it to exist, that field would have to be infinite and eternal. Since all sense objects and thought objects cannot be real without consciousness, then that field would have to be an Infinite and Eternal Consciousness. In other words, God would have to exist. John 1:1; Genesis 1:1.

On Truth and Falsity

                                True and False Systems

Most humans have a natural desire to learn that which is true and that which is false. Humans argue about this very fact every day in every walk of life. Whatever the truth is, it must be pure. If any falsity attaches to any truth, then that sense object or thought object, or any system composed of these experiences, cannot be completely true. All basic, irreducible sense objects such as "round," "hard," or "red" can only be pure truth simply because there happens to be no way in which they can be false. No skeptical, infinite test is necessary. But basic, irreducible sense objects can be formulated into true or false systems. The sense objects themselves remain absolutely true, but the system itself can be false. All falsity happens in this way. For example, the formula: "Light has to be propagated through space through a medium called aether" has proven to be false although every sense object in the formula proves to be useful and true. The thought object "aether" has proven to be a false idea that results from a false system. As of now, the word "aether" means nothing. This fact shows that the thought idea called "nothing" has also proven to be a true and useful idea that indicates the presence of falsity that should be usefully discarded.

All basic, but general, thought objects also prove to be pure truth because there happens to be no way in which they can be false. Such thought objects as "justice," "beauty," and "truth" can only be true ideals to which formulated systems aim to arrive. Such systems can be true or false, but the basic ideals for which these systems aim always prove to be pure truth. Systems that prove themselves to be useful for the benefit of humans are always true systems. Systems that prove to be harmful to humans are always false even though the basic ideals that compose both of these systems always prove to be true. Falsity never occurs to any basic, irreducible sense object or any ideal thought object because no falsity whatsoever can be found in them. Because of the limitations of human intelligence, dogmatists search for good systems of pure truth that will benefit the well being of their fellow humans. In this search, they engage in formulating systems of speculative opinion. Even the dogmatic scientists' theories can be only speculative opinions until they are proven to be true or false by experimentation. Nevertheless, any theory which any scientist may formulate, whether true or false, will never fail to comprise true sense objects and/or thought objects. The dogmatists formulate some systems that prove to be true and useful and some systems that prove to be false and should be discarded. Nevertheless, all dogmatists should be commended for attempting to formulate true systems that will increase the knowledge and well being of their fellow humans.

As a general rule, all human experience consists of basic, irreducible sense objects, ideal thought objects, true systems, false systems, and systems of opinion. All of these systems never fail to consist of true and real sense objects and/or thought objects. Mathematics proves to be a perfect example of this truth. The basic, real number happens to be the number one. All higher numbers are merely additions of the number one. The number one is true and real simply because it cannot be false, and so are all the higher numbers. The sign "zero" cannot be a number. It numbers nothing. But it indicates the real and useful idea of nothing. If a person thinks or writes 2+3=6, that happens to be a false system even though every sign and number can only be true and real. It proves to be false because it is useless. The formula really equals the useful idea of nothing. It equals zero. If that person corrects his mistake and recalculates that 2+3=5, then that person has formulated a true system because it happens to be useful to humans in many ways. But whether the system is true or false, every number and every sign within either system proves itself to be true and real simply because they cannot be false. If, as the skeptics believe, no one can ever tell if numbers and signs are true or false, then true mathematical calculations would be impossible and useless. But mathematicians have discovered certain theorems which no one has ever been able to prove whether they are true systems or not. But the mathematicians search for the truth, and they devise different systems of opinion as to how to find the true answers whether those answers are true and useful or false and useless. Even false systems produce true results because the idea of nothing that identifies the falsity in these systems also indicates that the false system should be usefully discarded.

If one opens a dictionary at random to any page and reads the words, one will find that every word has a meaning. Every word will represent a basic, irreducible sense object, a general thought object, a true system, a false system, or a system of opinion. Some systems can be true or false depending on how they are used. Some words mean nothing because they result from false systems. Even nonsense words are false because they are useless. Nevertheless, they all have a true meaning. They all mean nothing.

If humanity had ever adhered to the philosophy of the skeptics that no difference between truth and falsity can ever be discovered, then human progress would have become impossible. The hypocritical skeptics claim that they achieve "quietude" because they accept the laws and customs of the societies in which they live. pb. OP p. 21. They ignore the fact that laws, customs, and institutions are good, but not perfect, systems devised by the dogmatists, whom they despise, for their safety and well being. Thank God, humanity ignored the philosophy of the skeptics and continue to search for true systems that will benefit humanity. If the skeptics had had their way, then all societies would have degenerated into brutal systems because the skeptics see no difference between civilized and barbarian societies. Even the empirical scientists, who claim to be skeptics, use the scientific method in their attempts to discover the difference between truth and falsity.

On Truth and Falsity

                    The Reality of Appearances

The skeptics claim that they suspend all judgment as to that which is true and real from that which is false and unreal. But they go much further than that. The skeptics assert that human intelligence can never discover the difference between truth and reality and falsity and unreality. They criticize the dogmatists for even trying to make that search. The skeptics really claim that human intelligence is quite impotent; that is, that human consciousness finds it to be quite impossible to ever be able to find the difference between truth and reality and falsity and unreality. The skeptics claim that they search for the truth, but they do not, for how can they search for the truth if they believe it to be impossible to find.

The skeptics do admit that humans possess sense objects and thought objects but in appearance only. They claim that human intelligence can make no certain judgments as to the truth and reality of appearances or their falsity and unreality. They really argue that human intelligence has no power whatsoever to make any judgments at all. They actually assert that humans should live like animals and just take life as it comes and ignore their intelligence. They also claim that they obtain an attitude of "quietude" by their supposed suspension of their judgments, but they admit that they used their human intelligence to arrive at this state of "quietude." pk. OP p. 18. They do not argue that their state of "quietude" could be false. They used their human intelligence to reach the judgment that they have obtained a true and real attitude of "quietude." To this extent, the skeptics admit that human intelligence can be used to make judgments as to the differences between truth and reality and falsity and unreality.

Even so, the skeptics argue throughout the entire book called Outlines of Pyrrhonism that all of the judgments that the dogmatists make by using their reason and logic to discover truth and reality can only be absurd. The skeptics also argue that because the dogmatists disagree with each other about truth and falsity, then the difference between reality and unreality can never be found. Yet, the skeptics use their own forms of logic and reason to reach the conclusion that all other forms of logic and reason can only result in absurdity. In other words, the skeptics make the judgment that all other judgments can only be absurd except their own true and certain judgment that all judgments are absurd. No one can make true and certain judgments except the skeptics. To the skeptics, absurdity is certainly true and real. So again, the skeptics used their human intelligence to reach the judgment that according to their own forms of logic and reason, absurdity can be the only certain truth. And since they used their own forms of reason and logic to reach their conclusions, then they must also believe that their forms of logic and reason must also be certain and real. As such, the skeptics actually argue against the powers of human intelligence in the dogmatists but not against their own.

The skeptics argue that a difference exists between the appearance of something and any judgment as to whether or not that appearance is true and real. But what they miss, and do not even consider, is that intelligent humans cannot avoid making a judgment as to the truth and reality of any appearance. Human intelligence uses the word "sweet" to denote the actual sensation when a healthy person tastes honey. Human intelligence has the power to form the word "sweet" to indicate that sense object that certainly occurs to every healthy person who tastes honey. By its use of the word "sweet," English speakers can convey the reality that honey tastes sweet to every other English speaker. The fact that those who speak other languages use other words for the "sweet" taste of honey makes no difference to the fact that human intelligence has the power to form a word that conveys the reality of the taste called "sweet." The fact that human intelligence has the power to form all sense objects and thought objects into words can only mean that all appearances to human consciousness can only be real since they all have meaning. If all sense objects and thought objects had no meaning to human consciousness except as mere appearances, like that of the animals, then humans could never form languages. And since intelligent consciousness can appear to itself as a thought object, then it too can only be real, Since all appearances can only be real, then all words in any language can be formed into sentences and systems that also convey meaning that also must be true and real. The practical uses of sentences and systems prove that they can only be true and real. Falsity can never have a useful meaning, but truth and reality can.

The skeptics counter with the argument that reality cannot be realized because honey tastes sweet to a healthy person, but it can taste bitter to a sick person. Therefore, they conclude, no one can tell if honey is really sweet or bitter. But the skeptics ignore the fact that the sentence "Honey tastes sweet to a healthy person" has a completely different meaning than the sentence "Honey tastes bitter to a sick person." These are different systems with different meanings. Both sentences employ true and useful words in them, but the first sentence conveys the meaning that the ordinary and normal taste of honey is that it is sweet while the second sentence conveys the meaning that sickness can cause honey to taste bitter. The first sentence, comprised of true and useful sense objects, conveys a true and real meaning, but the second sentence, also comprised of true and useful sense objects, conveys a false meaning. As a universal rule, all systems and sentences composed of real sense and/or thought objects always convey a real meaning, even if that meaning is that it is false. "Honey tastes sweet to a healthy person" is true and real. "Honey tastes bitter to a sick person" will mean that the real sickness of that real person really caused that person to have a real taste of bitterness when that person tasted real honey, but that fact does not mean that the ordinary and real taste of honey can be bitter.

As a universal rule, falsity itself never appears to intelligent consciousness. Intelligent consciousness can only experience that which is true and real. Falsity always lies hidden within false combinations of real and true sense objects and/or thought objects. For example, when a person states that unicorns do not exist, that person simply means that real horns and real horses do not combine to form unicorns. The real existence of unicorns means nothing because the real and useful idea of nothing indicates the meaning that unicorns do not exist. Unicorns have meaning as being equal to nothing, but the nonexistence of the unicorn; that is, the falsity of the unicorn never appears. Therefore, when the skeptics assert that no difference can ever be discerned between truth and falsity, one can answer that everything one experiences can only be true and real.