self-evident truth
Undeniable foundational premise
A self-evident truth is a statement whose validity is immediately apparent and requires no proof or argument.
The phrase is most associated with the American Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
In philosophy, self-evident truths are propositions that any rational person would accept upon understanding them—though what counts as self-evident often proves contentious.
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- first principlesBasic truths underlying reasoning
- obviousEasily perceived, unmistakable
- plain as dayUnmistakably evident
- goes without sayingUnderstood without articulation
undeniable · manifest · clear · beyond doubt · innate · fundamental · universal · common sense · unquestionable · certain · inherent · natural · natural rights · moral law · plain · patent · indisputable · Jefferson
- fundamentalsbasics, fundamentals, essentials, foundation, ABCs
- truthsfacts, fact, reality, verity, verities
- philosophy termsreason, knowledge, wisdom, logic, ethics
- Propositionsstatement, assertion, claim, premise, conclusion
- pure reasonpure reason, a priori, synthetic a priori, first principles
- beliefsbelief, beliefs, creed, creeds, faith
self-evident truthhypothesis
Testable proposed explanation
conjecture · speculation · open question · supposition · educated guess
self-evident truthabsurdity
Wildly illogical quality
logical contradiction · fallacy · delusion · myth · misinformation
self, evident, truth, selves, self-evidently, evidence, evidently, evidential, evidentiary