There is something called truth, that often gets twisted beyond recognition, because it is (as Al Gore once said): inconvenient. As a result, the idea of truth often gets beaten down, beaten up, or dismissed with a nod and a wink. I am pretty sure there are SOME THINGS that are true, in spite of alternative motives, spin doctors, and insipid pundits. There is no need to list true things: they speak for themselves and require no validation. They are, metaphorically, within the realm of a noted US Supreme Court Justice' comment regarding pornography, roughly paraphrased as: I don't know the definition of pornography, but I know it when I see it. Truer words were never spoken. And that is the truth. I look forward to comments on this topic. Those ought to nicely dovetail with some recent topics and show a microcosm of modern intellectualism. We shall see.

"My statement is not true."
The classification of such verbal constructs baffled logicians for a couple of millennia. True if false, and false if true, such constructs tended to be classed as meaningless. In the 1950s, G Spencer Brown, a student of Bertrand Russell, finally solved the problem; or. to be more precise, he pointed out that the problem had already been solved centuries earlier by mathematicians.
Consider the equation, x(x) + 1 = 0
Then, x = -1/(x)
If x = +1, then +1 = -1
If x = -1, then -1 = +1
Thus, x is positive if it is negative and negative if positive just as the problematic statement is true if false and false if true. In addition , the statement and mathematical equation are self referential. They are of the same form.
When mathematicians first encountered such equations they realized that their classification of numbers as positive, negative, or zero was inadequate. They added an additional class called "imaginary" numbers to overcome the problem. So, too, suggested G Spencer Brown, logicians needed an additional class, which he called "imaginary," in addition to true, false, and meaningless. (It is said that Bertrand Russell was delighted to have lived long enough to see the problem solved.)
A delightful topic. I, too, look forward to the comments.

TRUTH
IS
Truth is life without uncertain difference.
Truth is the foundation of all equations.
Truth is more simple than thought.
Truth is the light of a new dawn.
Truth is equal, united and free.
Truth is Grand Unification.
Truth is absolute certainty.
Truth is hidden by theory.
Truth is blinded by faith.
Truth is what we seek.
Truth is measureless.
Truth is the solution.
Truth is self-evident.
Truth is everything.
Truth is the cure.
Truth is infinite.
Truth is good.
Truth is right.
Truth is just.
Truth is One.
Truth is All.
Truth is
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Something called truth exists. Some things are true, others, false. That individuals, groups or movements will distort truth for their own gain is as old as homo sapiens' ability to manipulate the reality is has created. The circle is being completed by the fact of fiction(s) becoming truth(s). And so, while some truths are immutable, others are subject to change, under numerous conditions. This has been called situational ethics, or in politics: waffling or flip-flopping. There is truth, then, and there is fiction. How these are construed is the big question.

Sunrise and sunset are convenient fictions. Although everyone understands that it is the rotation of the Earth and not the movement of the Sun that is causing these phenomena, who watches a sunrise or sunset and does not imagine that it is the Sun that is moving? Might this serve as a model for the many fictions that we use?
Myths, rationalizations, and even occasional lies can make life more pleasant provided that they cause no harm. But, there are times when truth and reality must be allowed to intrude. For example, almost everyone has heard the caution to wait an hour after eating before going swimming. Unfortunately the caution has led to a popular belief (perpetuated by parents and even teachers) that swimming on an empty stomach is the safest policy. In fact, the caution was intended to encourage people to have at least a substantial snack and then to wait at least an hour to let the digestive process flood the bloodstream with the protective factors that prevent cramping before entering the water to swim.

The Sun does rise and move across the sky and set,
And if ever it doesn't it won't matter what you eat before swimming.
If you are still searching for truth, study Nature.
Thoreau wrote: How indispensable to a correct study of Nature is a perception of her true meaning. The fact will One day flower out into a truth. The season will mature and fructify what the understanding has cultivated. Mere accumulators of fact---collectors of materials for the master workmen---are like those plants growing in dark forests, which "put forth only leaves instead of blossoms."
The flower that grows
Nature's truth is immeasurable,
Her Unity, our Oneness, the single absolute.
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Mr. Ahles, bless his meta-physical soul, always brings us down to Earth and the simplicity of oneness. And, regardless of how we may espouse the expansion of complexity, we should pause and consider those things that make us happiest vs. those that do not. I wonder when it was that we first doubted truth and, moreover, why? There must have been at least one tipping point. I do not think it was Hiroshima. So, if there was some such epiphany, then---how long did it take for us to fashion the truth-as-fiction notion? Or, has it always been with us---ever since we became smart enough to lie? Tell me a story. I have heard many...

Truth (with a capital T) is the entire body of possible statements that are true. It doesn't exist as a platonic form, but it's still true! And red, for example, has a specific definition (from wikipedia) as light with the wavelength between 620-740 nanometers. Another example: If "only God is good" and "I am good" are true, then I am God is also true. Which might be another way of saying if "God is love" and "I love myself", then I God myself. Self-apotheosis! I think Philosophy Talk is fun.

Unless I am missing the point in several of the blogs, I think that there is a great deal of faulty reasoning in the blogs on the current topic.
"This statement is false," seems to belong to a dimension other than true, false, or meaningless however one manipulates it.
"This statement is true," seems to me to be meaningless because simply saying that something is true does not make it so.
"This statement is meaningless," seems to me to be true.
Even though the professional logicians may not agree with my view, clearly there seem to be problems with the analysis of all simple self-referential statements.
Not so obvious, is the problem with the verb "is" and other variations of "to be." As George Santayana remarked ( in Scepticism and Animal Faith), "Whenever I use the word "is," except in sheer tautology, I deeply misuse it; and when I discover my error, the world seems to fall asunder . . .."
P.S. I first raised the issue of the liar's (or Epimenides) paradox n the hope that it could be set aside without further adieu.

Great question Paul!
Where did fiction start and truth end?
Who let the dogs out?
I think it all started with the uncertainty of a question that led to more uncertainty of thought. Some of those thoughts became uncertain answers, which led to sharing One's uncertain thoughts. Some of those shared uncertainties became stories passed on from people to people, generation to generation. And those same uncertain answers and stories became theories and others became faiths. Those theories and faiths led to the uncertainties of science and the uncertainties of religion. And those uncertain dogmas with all of its followers question today, what is certainty, what is the truth?
Today many and most are buried under a blanket of uncertainty, passed on from the uncertainties of old. To find the truth again one must simply remove what is not. Enlightenment is simply this Way!
Truth is more certain than a question,
And much more simple than thought.
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MJA

Thanks, Michael. There was more than one question, though. It does not matter. Allow me to say this: your poetry is sensitive, if redundant. Your prose, when you let it out, is intelligent and philosophically provocative. We both like the blog---here's hoping our ideas/notions/opinions are adding something to the discussion.

Truth is somewhat relative. This evening, while watching Entertainment Tonight's coverage of the Boston terrorism, ABC News broke into the broadcast with REAL coverage of new developments in the ensuing manhunt. This crisis will end soon, if it has not already ended. For the record, it is not my understanding that Entertainment Tonight is a news program. Apparently, that program's creators believe that it is such. We have more than enough programming devoted to news coverage and we are subjected to plenty of it. ET ought to stick with what it does best: the sordid, maudlin, self-indulgent lives of entertainers. I wonder if anyone else thinks this way? Yes, truth is relative. Yet also necessary. Within the confines of context.

Is truth really exists or not? Both of them.
To me truth is the average point our individual perceptions of nature that isn't proofed false yet. We might be proud of Einstein's view of Relativity that enlightens to the outworldly sensation of knowing more the universe upon a human's view. The next day we might see a scientist who revives Newton's Mechanism.
It exists as it represents the Nature, while it doesn't as it has an expiration date.