Life’s needs rather than independent reason determine what counts as truth
Evidence
It is this independence of truth, which has been presupposed throughout history, that Pragmatism most avidly denies. Our external life no less than our internal life, the pragmatist claims, is based on some imagination of knowledge. If it is true it will preserve and support our life; if it is an error, it will lead us into ruin. Our imaginations are formed by purely psychic influences. In no way are they mechanical reflections of the reality in which our real lives are intertwined. Hence it would be a most remarkable coincidence if they were to lead to desirable and predictable consequences within the realm of the real. It is probable, however, that among the numerous impressions and ideas which determine our active life, there are those which obtain the title of truth because they support and sustain life, while others with opposing consequences are called erroneous. Hence there is no originally independent truth which is subsequently drawn into the stream of life in order to guide it appropriately. On the contrary, among the infinite number of images and ideas which are borne along on the stream of our consciousness, there are some which correspond with our will to live. One might say that this is an accident; without this accident, however, we could not exist. It is precisely these supportive ideas which we recognize as right and true. Thus it is neither the objects by themselves, nor sovereign reason, which determine the truth-value of our thoughts. Rather, it is life—which expresses itself sometimes through the stark necessities of survival, sometimes through the deepest spiritual needs—that forces us to classify our ideas, one pole of which we designate as the full truth and the other as full error. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 857
Categorization
- DEFINE: Simmel’s reconstruction of the Pragmatist ideal type: truth as that which sustains life, with no prior independent truth to be discovered.
- QUESTION: Simmel reads Pragmatism as a life-form expression; how might this bear on the blasé attitude as a ‘true’ (life-sustaining) response to urban overload — an angle worth pursuing for the essay.
- XREF: connects to: The concept of life frames the fundamental decisions of modern existence — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 845; Choices between truth and ease shape life pathways. — Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life An Antidote to Chaos, 633; The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210 (+12 more)
Related
- Following saints cannot reveal truth because human minds are not truth-finding (similarity 0.84)
- Lebensphilosophie claims only life can grasp the truth of life (similarity 0.82)
- Pure logical reasoning thrives in loneliness but produces empty pseudo-truth (similarity 0.82)
- The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins (similarity 0.82)
- The concept of life frames the fundamental decisions of modern existence (similarity 0.80)
- Each society has a regime of truth that determines what counts as true (similarity 0.79)
- Truth of a theory is independent of either its productivity or its non-application (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins
#contradicts(0.75) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210 - Undifferentiated power conflates truth with decision-making authority
#expands(0.75) - Choices between truth and ease shape life pathways.
#corroborates(0.65) — Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life An Antidote to Chaos, 633 - Subordinated regimes of truth sustain plausibility for oppressed subjects
#corroborates(0.60) - Theorizing truth must account for conflicts that resist closure.
#expands(0.60) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 571 - Truth creates sustainable structures within societies.
#responds-to(0.50) — Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life An Antidote to Chaos, 702