Before there was truth there was nothing. There was, however, a first truth. It was true, but nothing knew of its truth. It was an unknown fact. That truth, or fact, being unknown, means it does not exist to us. Truth does not exist, until someone knows it. For example, we can not see or study a dinosaur that has not yet been discovered. Becoming known is a process of thought. Thought makes discovering truth and its existence possible.
Thought is the womb truth is birthed from, and existence is impossible if the concerning truth was never known to exist. Truth is existence, and thought is the prerequisite of truth.
Truth is not a lie. You must know the truth, to realize something is not true. Therefore, nothing known as a lie can exist without known truth. The truth has to be known for a lie to be possible. A red apple is the truth, saying the apple is blue is a lie. You see the red apple, so you know the lie of the blue apple does not exist. A rock is truth. Your name is truth. Gravity is truth. Pythagorean’s theorem is truth. Truth is existence. Existing as a lie, is to not exist, because the real truth exists, as shown in the apple example. If a rock truly exists before you, but you lie and say it is a feather instead, that feather can never exist because of the truth of the rock’s existence right in front of you. A lie is nothing.
There are cases when the truth is not known. We will call those cases false-truths. A false-truth is known and exists, because there is no corresponding truth. The only way a false-truth becomes a lie, is through discovery of the truth. I said the truth instead of knowing the truth because expressing the truth is sometimes a choice. Often, but not always, honesty will be the right choice. When honesty is, or is not, the right choice, is a discussion of virtue. The right choice is always the virtuous one, whether it involves honesty or not. There are cases where a false-truth continuing to exist, as such, is virtuous. Imagine a soldier gravely wounded on the battlefield being told everything is going to be okay, while being kept from seeing his injury, and getting pumped with drugs. That being okay is a false-truth that the soldier believes that many would feel is a virtuous decision by the combat medics. But of course there are times when truth and not false-truth is the path of virtue.
A lie can not be a false-truth. When the truth is known, only it can exist. We all know the term ‘white-lie.’ Often these are false-truths where the truth is hidden. Telling someone they look great, when internally you don’t like it is a false-truth, and often referred to as a ‘white-lie.’ It can be a false-truth because the truth is not known, it is hidden in your mind. Once you tell someone the truth, the false-truth becomes a lie and can no longer exist. Your false-truth can only exist as long as the truth is not apparent. As we have seen from a couple cases, it is possible for a false-truth to be virtuous. Meanwhile a lie, which is nothing, can not.
Lies only exist along with the truth. To hide the truth can be virtuous. If the truth is hidden or not known, a false-truth can exist. Once the truth is revealed, the false-truth can not exist. A known truth is the only thing that can exist. A false-truth can exist and be virtuous. The truth can be virtuous. A lie can not, because a lie can never exist, since it is always accompanied by the truth.
That first truth could’ve actually started as a false-truth. To know a false-truth is a lie, the truth must be expressed. To express the truth, a choice must be made. When truth is the answer, as with science, new facts or truths are realized and the false-truth can no longer exist. Again, the difference between false-truths and lies is, a false-truth exists without truth, while the lie can only be accompanied by truth. No truth is realized unless it is known to not be a false-truth. In other words, no truth is known without proof, reason, or evidence. This goes beyond this thesis, but skepticism has a natural link to the pursuit of truth. Expanding on that thesis will be my next endeavor.
In the end, we will always have the choice to lie or tell the truth. Now knowing that a lie is nothing, at least illustrates the importance of knowledge. The more truths you know, the harder you are to lie to. Your knowledge is truth. Your body of knowledge exists. Any lies within it, do not. If you know nothing, you are perfectly susceptible to others’ lies. I lie, therefore I am nothing. If you believe them all, you will be too.
