What Is Real vs What Is True
The question of what is real vs what is true may seem like a strange one to ask. They’re both the same thing, right? In the English language, we use these words interchangeably for convenience and usually, there isn’t much of an issue with that. However, there is a small but distinct difference between the two. The next question you might ask is: Who cares? Well, it turns out that the difference influences how you see yourself, how you see the world, your internal narrative and much more. It’s time to strap in and put your philosophy hat on…
According to many philosophers, something is real if it has actual existence and substance. Something that is real does not need to be proven. Your computer is real. Your chair is real. Your table is real. These are things that are there, don’t need explaining and most people agree are real. It is reality.
On the other hand, something that is true has to derive from evidence and reason — however good or bad that evidence and reason is. Mathematics is a concept that is true but not real. The number ten doesn’t exist in the real world. The only way you can explain the concept of the number ten is by using real things (line ten bottles up and say “look, ten!”) or by explaining the concept of the number ten. Something that is true attempts to reflect and interpret reality.
