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    %MEANINGFUL TRUE VERIFIABLE AGREEMENT STATEMENT 890424

     Often scientists are concerned with whether or not  a
statement is true or false.  They seek ways of deciding on
a  yes or no response to the question,  "Is the  statement
true?"   By and large scientists are concerned  only  with
statements  for  which  that  question  is  a   meaningful
question.   Scientists  are not concerned  primarily  with
whether or not a statement or behavior is meaningful, they
want  to achieve a communal agreement on whether or not  a
statement  is true in a communally verifiable  sense.   If
they  can  not get communal agreement that a statement  is
true,   they regard the statement as not being meaningful.
Scientists  often regard "true"  and "meaningful"   to  be
equivalent.

     The statement "I love you" may be meaningful, without
it  being possible to get a group of scientists  to  agree
that  it is literally "true".  The playing of a  piece  of
music may be meaningful,  without it being possible to get
a  group  of  scientists to agree  that  it  is  literally
"true".   Many fruits of human creativity are  meaningful,
without  being literally "true"  in any scientific  sense.
Many human behaviors are figuratively statements which are
neither true nor false, yet meaningful.  We need to affirm
the  fact that such behaviors are meaningful and worthy of
respect. If we do not do so, we are likely to disintegrate
and  become people who are preoccupied in meaningless ways
with true statements which make very little difference  in
our  personal relationships.  Then we will not  know  what
true love is, or know what it means to say "I love you".

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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