The Meaning has more value than the Truth since the Truth is empty in absence of the Meaning

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The Meaning has more value than the Truth since the Truth is empty in absence of the Meaning.
 
Meaning itself has less value. A proper meaning of an untruth doesn’t change the untruth. Truth is still truth without a meaning. However with a meaning, the truth can be more “meaningful” (understandable) on an individual level.

Truth with no understanding (meaning) is more valuable than untruth with complete meaning.
 
STT said:
The Meaning has more value than the Truth since the Truth is empty in absence of the Meaning.
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Without the Truth of something, it can have no meaning. You have it backwards. One plus one equal two. This is the Truth. What it means (and what we do with it) is certainly important, but without the Truth of it, it could have no meaning (and we could do nothing with it).
 
“Meaning” has no meaning without Truth. Meaning helps us understand Truth, my friend.
 
Truth without meaning is empty. Meaning without truth is blind. I think that we need both, and we cannot really live life on one principle or the other. Asking which value is more important is kind of like asking whether the lungs or heart is more important; we need both to survive regardless.
 
Mark_AM said:
Truth without meaning is empty. Meaning without truth is blind. I think that we need both, and we cannot really live life on one principle or the other. Asking which value is more important is kind of like asking whether the lungs or heart is more important; we need both to survive regardless.
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I like this. But what is the Meaning by the way in your opinions?
 
STT said:
I like this. But what is the Meaning by the way in your opinions?
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Not sure what you “mean” by this…

My take on it is that it is understandable. Ex. Santa Clause rides his sleigh through the sky pulled by nine reindeer. That has meaning (it is understandable), but it is essentially a false statement.
 
STT said:
The Meaning has more value than the Truth since the Truth is empty in absence of the Meaning.
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“The plug has more value than the socket since the socket can’t by used without the plug.”

They’re equally dependent on each other to exist. I imagine “truth” and “meaning” share a similar relationship.
 
I do better if I have a concrete example of an abstract concept. So I tried to come up with one for your statement. The first thing I thought of was Christmas, because everyone always talks about “the real meaning of Christmas”. The Truth about Christmas is that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, the Son of God, who humbled himself and became man so as to make of himself a human sacrifice. The Meaning of that truth is that we express our joy and gratitude that God loved us so much. Or else it means that we try to remember at least once a year to love our fellow human beings by being more generous than we normally would. Or maybe it means that we have to pretend to care for our obnoxious relatives and do battle with hoards of shoppers to spend money we don’t have on people we don’t really like.

My conclusion: Truth is absolute but Meaning is relative. You can have a Truth that means different things to different people, depending on their perspective. So in that sense meaning might be more valuable because it determines our attitude and actions. On the other hand, without the Truth, Meaning is meaningless. If Jesus hadn’t been born there would be no Christmas and no reason to search for meaning.

Just my :twocents:
 
Vonsalza said:
“The plug has more value than the socket since the socket can’t by used without the plug.”

They’re equally dependent on each other to exist. I imagine “truth” and “meaning” share a similar relationship.
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Could you please define truth and meaning?
 
STT said:
Could you please define truth and meaning?
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From Oxford:

Truth - The quality or state of being true. That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. A fact or belief that is accepted as true.

Meaning - What is meant by a word, text, concept, or action. Implied or explicit significance. Important or worthwhile quality; purpose.
 
Truth rules. Meaning is variable while truth is absolute. The laws of physics are truth, and are absolute. If the laws of physics varied randomly, then nothing would have any meaning. Truth is their foundation. What they mean in any practical given practical application varies. The truth is that it takes money to buy whiskey. But what if your pockets are empty? Empty pockets simply mean that you must go to the bank before purchasing whiskey in order to debate the truth. Enough already. Such philosophizing makes my head hurt.
 
Vonsalza said:
Meaning - What is meant by a word, text, concept, or action. Implied or explicit significance. Important or worthwhile quality; purpose.
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I know that definition. I was mostly interested in a definition such as purpose when it comes to meaning. Like when you ask what is the meaning of life? I don’t even think that purpose is a good definition for meaning. It is something deeper which without that life is empty. Unfortunately I cannot articulate it well.
 
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