The Story of My Experiments with Truth Truth Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

I had always heard the merchants say that truth was not possible in business. I did not think so then, nor do I now. Even today there are merchant friends who contend that truth is inconsistent with business. Business, they say, is a very practical affair, and truth a matter of religion; and they argue that practical affairs are one thing, while religion is quite another. Pure truth, they hold, is out of the question in business, one can speak it only so far as is suitable. (2.12.4)

Think about lying on a resume or during a job interview. People say everyone inflates their qualifications when they're trying to get a job, and if you don't, another applicant will get the gig and not you. But what would Gandhi say? Is it acceptable to stretch the truth if it's expected for the situation that you're in? Why or why not?

Quote #5

I think it is wrong to expect certainties in this world, where all else but God that is Truth is an uncertainty. All that appears and happens about and around us is uncertain, transient. But there is a Supreme Being hidden therein as a Certainty, and one would be blessed if one could catch a glimpse of that Certainty and hitch one's wagon to it. The quest for that Truth is the summum bonum of life. (3.23.13)

In classical philosophy (that means Greek and Roman), the summum bonum is the greatest good, the best thing. Gandhi says that's the quest for truth, even though everything but God is uncertain. To Gandhi, God is truth and certainty, and we should strive for it.

Quote #6

I cannot claim complete success for any experiment. Even medical men can make no such claim for their experiments. My object is only to show that he who would go in for novel experiments must begin with himself. That leads to a quicker discovery of truth, and God always protects the honest experimenter. (4.22.5)

According to Karl Popper's falsificationism view of science, experiments don't obtain truth but rather rule out falsehoods, which still advance our knowledge. Gandhi doesn't talk about Popper, who uses the word "truth" differently, but Gandhi does seem to maintain the questioning attitude Popper advises. That doesn't stop Gandhi from coming to strong conclusions.