Trivialism

Trivialism is a logical theory which paradoxically asserts that all statements are true and that all contradictions are true; in accordance with this, a trivialist is a person who believes everything is true.

B

One of the favorite maxims of my father was the distinction between the two sorts of truths, profound truths recognized by the fact that the opposite is also a profound truth, in contrast to trivialities where opposites are obviously absurd.
- Hans Henrik Bohr, writing about his father in "My father" in Niels Bohr — His Life and Work As Seen By His Friends and Colleagues (1967), edited by S. Rozental

D

"Three pounds of flax."
GP: Is that the answer to my question?
M2: No, of course not. That is just illustrative... Malaclypse the Younger

All statements are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false and meaningless in some sense.
- The Free Mantra of Sri Syadasti Syadavaktavya Syadasti Syannasti Syadasti Cavaktavyasca Syadasti Syannasti Syadavatavyasca Syadasti Syannasti Syadavaktavyasca, in THE PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA : or, How I Found the Goddess and What I Did To Her When I Found Her · THE MAGNUM OPIATE OF MALACLYPSE THE YOUNGER
  Wherein Is Explained Absolutely Everything Worth Knowing About Absolutely Anything (Ⓚ 1965 et al) by Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst).

GP: Maybe you are just crazy.
M2: Indeed! But do not reject these teachings as false because I am crazy. The reason that I am crazy is because they are true.
GP: Is Eris true?
M2: Everything is true.
GP: Even false things?
M2: Even false things are true.
GP: How can that be?
M2: I don't know man, I didn't do it.
GP: Why do you deal with so many negatives?
M2: To dissolve them.
GP: Will you develop that point?
M2: No.
- Principia Discordia (Ⓚ 1965 et al) by Greg Hill (Malaclypse the Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst), § POEE (Pronounced "POEE"; an acronym for the PARATHEO-ANAMETAMYSTIKHOOD OF ERIS ESOTERIC).

G

Charles Darwin - Dov M. Gabbay:...a border line case of a bearded person may be admitted as both bearded and not bearded without triviality. The admission does not carry a commitment to everything being true (i.e. it does not carry a commitment to what we might term trivialism – the view that everything is true).

There are two ways in which the avoidance of trivialism can fail. One is to accept the classical equivalence of negation- and absolute inconsistency.
- Dov M. Gabbay, Franz Guenthner, in Handbook of Philosophical Logic, Volume 11, Springer, 31 March 2004, p. 273.

...a border line case of a bearded person may be admitted as both bearded and not bearded without triviality. The admission does not carry a commitment to everything being true (i.e. it does not carry a commitment to what we might term trivialism – the view that everything is true).
- Dov M. Gabbay, John Woods, in The Many Valued and Nonmonotonic Turn in Logic (Google eBook), Elsevier, 13 August 2007, p. 131.

H

There's no one thing that's true. It's all true.
- Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), Ch 43.

K

If trivialism were true, then every state of affairs obtains — good or bad. Moreover, they obtain without any effort on my part. The trivialist then may offer the following wisdom to those burdened by the weight of the world: Why be worried? Because of the misfortune that befalls you? You regret not having taken a different course of action? But necessarily all things obtain – including everything that is bad for you. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this. So why regret your past actions? Instead, be happy and relaxed. And besides, everything good obtains too – you have missed out on nothing. The conditions for a peaceful, tranquil, and meaningful life are here to enjoy. And there is nothing you need to do in order to ensure that this remains so. Stop your worry, and be happy – and do whatever pleases you.
- Paul Kabay, in A Defense of Trivialism (2008), p. 196.

P

Trivialism is pretty hopeless as a philosophy, although it is very easy to defend/maintain verbally! The main criticism against it which is pertinent to this project is well expounded, and it is an argument from meaning. It is not clear that a trivialist can mean anything by his utterance or written statement, since there is no recognizable judgment attending sentences.
- Graham Priest, in "Paraconsistency: Logic and Applications: Logic and Applications", p. 296.

Trivialism, the doctrine that everything is actually true.
- Graham Priest, in Dov M. Gabbay, Franz Guenthner Handbook of Philosophical Logic, Volume 11, Springer, 31 March 2004, p. 273.

T

It is to be believed because it is absurd. ~ Tertullian

I know of no discussion which has degenerated into trivialism, except in moments of jest.
- Koji Tanaka, et al., in Paraconsistency: Logic and Applications: Logic and Applications, Springer, 26 July 2012, p. 296.

A trivial philosophy of mathematics holds that every well-formed mathematical formula, in any language of mathematics is true (and its negation is true), and any philosophical sentence about mathematics is also true.
- Koji Tanaka, et al., in "Paraconsistency: Logic and Applications: Logic and Applications", p. 296.

Trivialism arises from the idea that mathematics is classical and there is contradiction in mathematics, and therefore (under our old classical reasoning), all of mathematics is true, we then get to the meaninglessness of any particular mathematical statement and wallow in our degenerate theory.
- Koji Tanaka, et al., in "Paraconsistency: Logic and Applications: Logic and Applications", p. 296.