ABSTRACT
The chapter is a discourse on truth in Esan philosophy. While acknowledging the place of the conception of truth in western history of ideas and its emphasis on the epistemic dimension of truth, the chapter goes beyond epistemic rendition to identifying a matrix of relations between truth and other cognate ideals such as reality, goodness, sincerity, and justice to constitute a moral framework for the Esan understanding of truth. In doing this, the chapter locates a certain metaphysic of the human person that recognizes the human person as subject as the basis for this moral dimension of truth. In Esan lexicon, ‘truth’ is emhon-ata or ota-na-ta, translated as ‘matter’ or ‘word’ or ‘discourse’ worthy of expression or belief. Conversely, falsehood (ohogholi) is not worth expressing/believing, as it symbolizes nonexistence and non-substantiality. In confronting the question of what is it that makes a matter worthy of expressing, the chapter identifies clarity and distinctness together with the elimination of confusion and obscurity along with the objective of sincerity and integrity as the ground for what is worthy of expression. The chapter, therefore, establishes the reality of truth and its cognate ideals as the essential character of Adaze – a person of integrity.
