Sanning

Sanning, meaning truth in Swedish, denotes the quality of being in accord with fact or reality. In philosophy and related disciplines, sanning is central to questions about how language refers to the world, how beliefs are justified, and how statements are judged for accuracy. The concept also guides science, law, journalism, and everyday discourse, where distinctions between true and false claims matter for action and trust.

Several theories seek to define sanning. The correspondence theory holds that truth mirrors facts or states of affairs in the world. The coherence theory claims truth arises from the consistency of a belief with a wider system. The pragmatic theory links truth to the usefulness of a belief in guiding successful action. Deflationary (or minimalist) theories treat truth as a logical device—the affirmative operator "is true"—without ascribing a substantive property to statements. In formal contexts, Tarski and related programs analyze truth conditions for languages and mathematics.

Epistemology investigates how truth is known or justified, emphasizing evidence, testability, and replication. Truth is typically distinguished from belief or assertion, though social processes—such as testimony, peer review, and methodological rigor—shape assessments of truth. Skepticism, relativism, and misinformation pose ongoing challenges, prompting continual scrutiny of methods for detecting and communicating truth while recognizing context and limits of objectivity.

In practice, sanning informs science, law, journalism, and public life by guiding inquiry and decision-making. While some claim truth is context-dependent, many scholars maintain that objective truths can be approached through observation, reason, and transparent justification.