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''Aletheia'' or Alethia (; grc,
ἀλήθεια ''Aletheia'' or Alethia (; grc, ἀλήθεια) is truth or disclosure in philosophy. Originating in Ancient Greek philosophy, the term was later used in the works of 20th-century philosopher Martin Heidegger. Although often translated as " ...
) is truth or disclosure in
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. Originating in
Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empire ...
, the term was later used in the works of 20th-century philosopher
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
. Although often translated as "
truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...
", Heidegger argued that it is distinct from common conceptions of truth.


Antiquity

is variously translated as "unconcealedness", "
disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...
", "revealing", or "unclosedness". The literal meaning of the word is "the state of not being hidden; the state of being evident." It also means factuality or reality. It is the
antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''long'' entails that it is not ''short''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members ...
of , which literally means "oblivion", "forgetfulness", or "concealment" according to
Pindar's First Olympian Ode The Greek lyric poet Pindar composed odes to celebrate victories at all four Panhellenic Games. Of his fourteen ''Olympian Odes'', glorifying victors at the Ancient Olympic Games, the First was positioned at the beginning of the collection by A ...
. In
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, was personified as a Greek goddess, Aletheia. In some accounts she was a daughter of
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
, while
Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...
state she was crafted by
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...
. In she was equated with
Veritas Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of Honesty, truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: ). The German phi ...
, the Roman goddess of truth.


Heidegger and ''aletheia''

In the early to mid 20th-century,
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
brought renewed attention to the concept of ''aletheia'', by relating it to the notion of
disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media * ''Disclosure'' (The Gathering album), 2012 *Disclosure (band), a UK-based garage/electronic duo * ''Disclosure'' (novel), 1994 novel written by Michael Crichton ** ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American ...
, or the way in which things appear as entities in the world. While he initially referred to ''aletheia'' as "truth", specifically a form that is
pre-Socratic Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of thes ...
in origin, Heidegger eventually corrected this interpretation, writing: Heidegger gave an
etymological Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words and ...
analysis of ''aletheia'' and drew out an understanding of the term as 'unconcealedness'. Thus, ''aletheia'' is distinct from conceptions of truth understood as statements which accurately describe a state of affairs ( correspondence), or statements which fit properly into a system taken as a whole ( coherence). Instead, Heidegger focused on the elucidation of how an
ontological In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
"world" is disclosed, or opened up, in which things are made intelligible for human beings in the first place, as part of a holistically structured background of meaning. Heidegger also wrote that , disclosure regarded as the opening of presence, is not yet truth. Is then less than truth? Or is it more because it first grants truth as and , because there can be no presence and presenting outside of the realm of the opening?" Heidegger began his discourse on the reappropriation of ''aletheia'' in his magnum opus, ''
Being and Time ''Being and Time'' (german: Sein und Zeit) is the 1927 '' magnum opus'' of German philosopher Martin Heidegger and a key document of existentialism. ''Being and Time'' had a notable impact on subsequent philosophy, literary theory and many oth ...
'' (1927), and expanded on the concept in his '' Introduction to Metaphysics''. For more on his understanding of ''aletheia'', see ''Poetry, Language, and Thought'', in particular the essay entitled "
The Origin of the Work of Art "The Origin of the Work of Art" (german: Der Ursprung des Kunstwerkes) is an essay by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. Heidegger drafted the text between 1935 and 1937, reworking it for publication in 1950 and again in 1960. Heidegger bas ...
", which describes the value of the work of art as a means to open a "clearing" for the appearance of things in the world, or to disclose their meaning for human beings.According to Heidegger, art "gives things their look, and human beings their outlook." From "The Origin of the Work of Art." Heidegger revised his views on ''aletheia'' as truth, after nearly forty years, in the essay "The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking," in ''On Time and Being''.


See also


References


Further reading

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External links


Aletheia and Other Terms for Truth in Ancient Greek


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150626101634/http://www.ontology.co/heidegger-aletheia.htm Martin Heidegger on Aletheia (Truth) as Unconcealment {{Authority control Concepts in metaphysics Martin Heidegger Truth Parmenides Personifications in Greek mythology