An Introduction to Truth

An Introduction to Truth

What This Document Is About

This document is an attempt to define truth, not as a single thing, but as something that exists across multiple layers of reality and experience. Truth is not only what can be measured or proven scientifically, nor is it only what people feel or believe. Truth appears differently depending on how we look at it and from where we are looking.

To understand truth properly, we need to understand four distinct but interconnected forms:

Only by holding all four at once can we begin to build a coherent and integrated framework of truth.

What Is Truth?

At its most basic level, truth is that which reliably holds within a given context. What makes truth difficult is that reality operates across many contexts at once: physical, biological, psychological, cultural, and philosophical. Each context reveals a different kind of truth, and confusion arises when we mistake one kind for another.

Truth is not one flat category. It is layered.

Inter-Objective Truth (Shared, Observable Reality)

Inter-objective truth is the most directly observable and easiest to agree upon. It is truth that exists independently of any one person and can be verified collectively.

Examples:

These truths are:

This is the domain where Western science is strongest. Physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics operate primarily at this level. Because inter-objective truths can be measured and cross-checked, they form the most stable foundation for a truth framework.

This is why starting with inter-objective truth is so powerful: it gives us a common ground that does not rely on belief, interpretation, or perspective.

Inter-Subjective Truth (Shared Meaning and Systems)

Inter-subjective truth is not materially observable, but it is still real. It exists between people, not inside objects.

Examples:

A piece of paper is not inherently money, but within a shared system of belief, it functions as money. These truths are upheld by collective agreement. They do not exist in nature on their own, but they shape human behavior, institutions, and history in very real ways.

Inter-subjective truths are harder to define than inter-objective truths, but they are no less powerful. Entire societies are structured around them.

Objective Truth (What Actually Happened)

Objective truth refers to what occurred, independent of how anyone feels about it. It is the closest we get to a neutral account of events, even though it is often difficult to access perfectly.

Examples:

Objective truth is not about meaning or interpretation. It is about events and facts as they occurred. In practice, we often approximate objective truth using evidence, records, measurements, and observation.

Objective truth can exist even when people disagree about it. The disagreement usually arises not from the event itself, but from interpretation.

Subjective Truth (Lived Experience and Interpretation)

Subjective truth is the truth of experience. It is how something feels, how it is interpreted, and what meaning it takes on for an individual.

Examples:

Two people can experience the same objective event and have completely different subjective truths about it. Neither subjective truth is “wrong,” because they describe internal experience, not external facts.

Subjective truth does not tell us what happened.
It tells us how it was lived.

This is why subjective truth is essential for understanding humans, but insufficient on its own for understanding reality as a whole.

Why All Four Forms of Truth Matter

Each form of truth answers a different question:

Problems arise when we:

Real understanding requires holding all four simultaneously.

The Timeline of Emergence as a Truth Map

My timeline of emergence is an attempt to link truth across layers, starting with what is most observable and moving toward what is most abstract.

It begins with:

These domains rely heavily on inter-objective and objective truth. As the timeline progresses, it moves into:

Here, subjective and inter-subjective truths become unavoidable.

The goal is not to reduce everything to science, nor to dissolve everything into metaphor. The goal is to cross-reference as much as possible—to link disciplines, ideas, and perspectives into a coherent whole.

Toward a Coherent Truth Framework

Everything I am trying to do—linking metaphysics and Taoism with mathematics and anthropology, philosophy with neuroscience, culture with biology—is an attempt to create the most coherent map of truth possible.

Truth becomes clearer when:

Truth is not found by choosing one lens.
Truth is found by understanding how the lenses relate.

That is what this framework is trying to do: not claim final answers, but build the clearest possible structure for understanding reality as it unfolds across matter, mind, culture, and consciousness.