There are no Necessary Truths

Necessary truth is something which could not have been otherwise. That a square has four sides is often used as an example of a necessary truth; the square could not have been otherwise. These truths rely upon a priori knowledge, knowledge independent of human experience. But necessary truths do not exist.


Human experience and the empirical evidence which is derived from it is what defines truth. It is the human which created the square and its four sides--and as such the truth could have been defined as otherwise.


Consider the numbers system. Numbers seem a thing which must naturally exist as necessary truth. And yet the Pirahã tribe has virtually no use of numbers. While on hunts, tribesmen do not count using their fingers or traditional figures. Two words they use to describe quantity are "hói" (smaller amount) and "hoí" (larger amount). While hói can be used to define one thing or a few things, it has been observed to apply to numbers significantly smaller than the originally observed amount. In addition, efforts to teach the Pirahã to count to ten or to add 1+1 have been abandoned after eight months. The numbers that the rest of the world observes as universal do not exist in Pirahã society.


The numbers which are considered by the vast majority of the world as necessary truths are nothing more than creations of human experience. There are no necessary truths.




On the Pirahã language: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Pirah%C3%A3_language