What is Truth? ( Quid est veritas ): Simple Answers to One of Life's Most Important Questions

Summary

Key Points

• Many today, especially young people, question "what is truth," and a popular but flawed Google definition describes it as "a fact or belief that is accepted as true." 0:34
• This subjective definition is problematic because it is self-referential and leads to the self-destructive idea that truth does not exist if acceptance makes it true. 1:40
• Beyond objective reality, the most important answer to "what is truth" is Jesus Christ, who declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life." 2:51
• Denying objective truth inevitably leads to nihilism, where concepts like objective good and evil are lost, human rights become mere social constructs, and life loses all inherent meaning. 3:01
• The classical definition of truth, taught by great minds like Aquinas and Aristotle, is "adaequatio rei et intellectus," meaning the correspondence between the real thing and the concept in the intellect. 4:20
• Our minds naturally seek this objective correspondence, and denying it is a blasphemy against our Creator and a sin against our neighbors, as true charity requires informing others of the truth. 5:42
• Christ is the ultimate reality, the reason for our existence, and the perfect answer to humanity's search for truth, as our hearts remain restless until they rest in Him. 7:57
• The two definitions of truth—objective reality and Christ—are ultimately one, as Jesus is the light without whom we walk in darkness, trapped in our own subjective minds. 8:22
• Seeking and conforming ourselves to Christ, the truth, promises to lead us to the happiness, holiness, and freedom for which we were created. 9:14