“True statements cannot become false, nor can false statements become true”.

International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge

Aakash Dheer

IB1 TOK

11/3/03

“True Statements Cannot Become False, Nor Can False Statements Become True”

At first glance, the title of this essay may very well be seen as a joke. How can the validity of statements change? The fact is, the validity of statements can change entirely, depending on the reader’s point of view with regard to the statement. Although the sentence may seem straightforward and not at all complicated, there is much more to the declaration above than meets the eye, as the validity of the statement depends almost wholly on how it is interpreted by the reader. In this essay, I will discuss the validity of this statement based on several different possible interpretations of the title sentence.

The first interpretation of the title sentence is that once a statement is made, an identical statement made at a different time cannot be considered to be the same statement. So, the statements “Black is not white” and “Black is not white” are not the same statement, merely duplicates. This is similar to the math concept of congruency: two different objects are completely identical, but cannot be considered to be the same. For this interpretation, we will use the sample statement “John is 14”. If this statement were made when the John we are referring to had not yet reached the age of 14, it would have to be classified as false. On the other hand, the identical statement, made while John is 14, will be true. However, this does not make the first statement of “John is 14” true, as duplicate statements made at different times are not considered as the same. Therefore, under the current understanding of the title declaration, a statement cannot change over time and become true, even if statements identical to it made at a later time may be true.

This is a preview of the whole essay

A second interpretation of the title, similar to the first, is that a statement can only be classified as true or false using the circumstances that were present and the facts that were true at the time the statement was made. For this interpretation, let us use the sample statement “I live in Indonesia”. If this statement were to be made, by me, during August of 2002, it would be classified as true, as I was living in Indonesia at the time. As a result, under the interpretation of the title sentence we are currently evaluating, this statement “I live in Indonesia” can never be considered false, so long as it was true at the time it was made. Since I now live in Canada, one might say that the statement I made last August will be considered false, as I indeed do not live in Indonesia. However, since the interpretation of the title sentence we are considering says that statements can only be verified by checking them against facts that were true when the statement was said, the statement “I live in Indonesia”, uttered by myself during August of 2002, will remain true for eternity. Under this interpretation, the validity of statements cannot change over time, as a statement can only be classified as true or false using the circumstances and facts present at the time that the statement was made.

Yet another interpretation of the title is the opposite of the first, saying that identical statements made at different times can be considered as the same. Under this ideology, “Black is not white” and “Black is not white” are one and the same. For this interpretation of the title, we will use the example “Philadelphia is the capital of the United States of America”. Were this statement made in 1794, when Philadelphia was indeed the capital of the United States, it would obviously be considered true. Now let us assume that this statement is said again, in 1996, when the capital of the United States was Washington, DC. Obviously, the statement would be

considered false, as Philadelphia was of course not the capital. Under the first interpretation, the statement “Philadelphia is the capital of the United States of America”, made in 1794, will always remain true. However, under our current interpretation, if identical statements, made at different times, have different validities, the validity of the latter statement applies to both. This means that since the statement made in 1996 was considered false, the statement made in 1794 will also be considered false. So, under the current ideology, if the validity of a statement, identical to the original statement, made at a later time is in contrast with the validity of the original statement, the validity of the original statement can indeed change over time,

The fourth interpretation of the title sentence, which is the final one I will be considering, is that the validity of a statement can be checked using facts and circumstances that were present at a different time. For this understanding of the title statement, we will use the sample sentence “Shaquille O’Neal plays for the Orlando Magic”. Were this statement made in 1993, when O’Neal was playing for the Orlando Magic, it would undisputedly be considered as a true statement. However, under the interpretation of the title we are currently examining, the validity of the statement would change after 1996, when O’Neal started playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. This is because under this interpretation of the title, if circumstances change, the validity of a statement can change as well, no matter when the statement was made. Therefore, under this interpretation of the title, the validity of statement can change over time.

As is evident, there are many possible interpretations of the title statement, with just a few being discussed here. As one can see, the validity of the title can change drastically, depending on how the reader sees and interprets the statement. Under two of the more pragmatic and realistic interpretations, that identical statements made at different times are not the same, and that the validity of the statements can be considered only using the facts and circumstances that were present at the time the statement was made, true statements cannot become false, nor can false statements become true. Under two other not-as-realistic ideologies, that identical statements made at different times can be considered as the same, and that the validity of a statement can be checked using circumstances from a different time, true statements can become false, as can false statements become true. Therefore, the validity of the title sentence depends entirely on how the reader understands it.

1067 Words