• Benj96
    2.3k
    If someone says statement A at point A in time and the statement is currently false, but the statement is not read until point B in time when statement A has in the meantime become true/ factual. Can we say person A has lied?

    For example someone (A) leaves a note saying “your husband is cheating on you They were at the park today” Which they write out of spite/ jealousy and is to their knowledge false. But the person (B) doesn’t read it for a week and when they do the husband indeed admits they are cheating on them and did go to the park that day?

    How can person A be giving an account of something that is true yet be a liar simultaneously?

    This is an example I think of how time impacts the factual/ belief or truth/ falsity status of statements/ information
  • Tom Storm
    9.1k
    The lie didn't become truth. The liar is not giving an account of a fact - the situation in the lie just happens to coincidentally match the facts over time, so what? It's still a lie.
  • James Riley
    2.9k
    Whether a statement is a lie, is not determined by time or the objective truth of the matter asserted. It's a lie if the declarant thought it was a lie when stated. It's the subjective understanding of the declarant. One can be wrong and not have lied, or be a liar. One can state an objective truth but be a liar if they thought they were lying.
  • T Clark
    13.9k
    Whether a statement is a lie, is not determined by time or the objective truth of the matter asserted. It's a lie if the declarant thought it was a lie when stated. It's the subjective understanding of the declarant. One can be wrong and not have lied, or be a liar. One can state an objective truth but be a liar if they thought they were lying.James Riley

    Sometimes, when I disagree with my wife and she's pissed at me, she says "That's right, I'm a liar." I say, "No, you're just wrong."
  • James Riley
    2.9k
    Sometimes, when I disagree with my wife and she's pissed at me, she says "That's right, I'm a liar." I say, "No, you're just wrong."T Clark

    If there is one thing that pisses people off, it's reason. :lol:
  • tim wood
    9.3k
    If there is one thing that pisses people off, it's reason.James Riley
    Aka woman-bane.
  • James Riley
    2.9k
    Aka woman-bane.tim wood

    [Looking over my shoulder before responding . . .]

    :wink:
  • tim wood
    9.3k
    The secret now out as to why you're armed, even while swimming. G'day to the missus.
  • T Clark
    13.9k
    Aka woman-bane.tim wood

    Nothing like a little misogyny to lighten up the mood.
  • tim wood
    9.3k
    Really? In your life's experience women are the reasoners and welcome reason, more so or equally with men?
  • T Clark
    13.9k
    Really? In your life's experience women are the reasoners and welcome reason, more so or equally with men?tim wood

    Shhhhhh. I know sometimes it's hard for old folks to remember we shouldn't say everything we think out loud.
  • tim wood
    9.3k
    I accept your excellent advice - execution sometimes a problem. Maybe that's my feminine side.
  • TheMadFool
    13.8k
    how time impacts the factual/ belief or truth/ falsity status of statements/ informationBenj96

    The only constant in life is change. — Heraclitus

    What is meant by change? It's basically the truth value of propositions switching from true to false or vice versa with the passage of time. The universe is in dynamic flux as Heraclitus observed thousands of years ago and truth/falsity too is part of this continuous metamorphosis the cosmos, all in it, undergoes moment to moment. For instance, I was an infant, now no more and I'm alive as I write this but I won't be at some point.

    The note consisting of the words, "Your husband is cheating on you They were at the park today" becomes true precisely because of change.

    It bears mentioning that some ideas/names seem to ignore transformations e.g. New York city in 1800's is vastly different from today's New York city but this isn't reflected in the name which remains the same. Similarly, adult people are called by the same name given to them when they were infants i.e. people's identity are thought to be constant throughout their life despite the obvious ways in which they alter, physically and mentally. Souls? A topic for another discussion.

    This (transitory nature of truths about our world) is why people have been in search of eternal truths. Some such can be found in mathematics: given the same axioms, 2 + 2 = 4 is an eternal truth; the sum of all the angles in a triangle in Euclidean space will forever be equal to 2 right angles.

    Parmenides disagrees,

    Change is an illusion. — Parmenides

    As per Parmenides, the note was a lie, is a lie, will always be a lie. Odd that!
  • baker
    5.6k
    How can person A be giving an account of something that is true yet be a liar simultaneously?Benj96

    By 1. not knowing that it is true, and 2. by speaking with the intention to deceive.

    It's the intention to deceive that makes something a lie.
  • Prishon
    984
    The truth about the interpretation of QM.

    The truth about the standard model.

    By telling I didnt stole a thing in the supermarket (to let not wife to worry) while at the same time knowing I stole a bottle of fruity juice (these cost so much!).
bold
italic
underline
strike
code
quote
ulist
image
url
mention
reveal
youtube
tweet
Add a Comment

Welcome to The Philosophy Forum!

Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.