Veritism was a socio-philosophical ideology

Ideology

An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...

 promoted by the "Veritism Foundation" (apparently now defunct). It advocates that man has been presented with no conclusive evidence lending credence to the existence of a specific deity

Deity

A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

, or supreme entity and thus has no justification for reaching any kind of conclusions on the nature of such a being other than that (as represented by humanities current state) it is a benign force.

On History

Veritism proposes that man has been engaged in an unfruitful search for truth since his creation.
Veritism also emphasizes that some, not having found truth, or lacking direction in their own lives, have rejected the existence of absolute truth. (Thus embracing atheistic, nihilistic

Nihilism

Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...

 ideologies).
History is a crucial aspect in Veritism, as most of Veritistic theory rests upon the conclusion that truth must be revealed unto humanity by an external means. The past lends credence to this conclusion, as throughout human history multiple theories and ideologies have been discarded. Essentially, philosophy is a dynamic subject, constantly in a state of change: conclusions are eternally tested, challenged and discarded only to be quickly and efficiently replaced by those seemingly more plausible.

On Ultimate Truth

Veritism suggests that humanity may only theorize upon non-observable studies. Man can draw conclusions concerning solid, physical sciences such as mathematics, science or chemistry. But he cannot claim he has undeniably and irrefutably answered questions relative to philosophy. Thus the only logical absolute

Absolute (philosophy)

The Absolute is the concept of an unconditional reality which transcends limited, conditional, everyday existence. It is sometimes used as an alternate term for "God" or "the Divine", especially, but by no means exclusively, by those who feel that the term "God" lends itself too easily to...

 concerning objective

Objectivity (philosophy)

Objectivity is a central philosophical concept which has been variously defined by sources. A proposition is generally considered to be objectively true when its truth conditions are met and are "mind-independent"—that is, not met by the judgment of a conscious entity or subject.- Objectivism...

 philosophical truth is that it simply does not exist. Yet many discard this statement, saying that it denies its own antecedent (one claims an absolute when he denies the existence of absolute truth). Yet upon examination of this particular antecedent we find that it is specific to a certain kind of truth, and thus claims only that truths asserted from a certain medium cannot be conclusive. As an example, any type of personal revelation

Revelation

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...

 or "vision" cannot be deemed as legitimate, as there is ultimately no way to prove that it was of divine cause or of personal accord. In Veritism the question becomes "what is the nature of truths presented?", "what is their claim?" and "is that claim plausible?"

On Religion

Veritism dismisses organized religion or any claim to ultimate truth as ignorant and without grounds.

On Reality

A veritistic view of reality is rather basic. That which can be perceived by the five senses is that which exists.

On Ethics

Veretistic ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 would advocate that humans have an inherent view of that which is right or wrong. This is demonstrated in law and government. The only humans lacking any type of self morals, or ethical inclination are those with a mental or psychological dysfunction. Veritism consequently suggests that there are numerous cultural factors which influence behavior concerning ethics, sometimes in a negative way.
Veritistic thinking also attributes action to negative consequence. Some may subscribe to a religion simply because they fear a negative afterlife

Afterlife

The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...

. Those who are truly moral, ethical people are those who do good with no ultimate reward, simply because it is the right thing to do.

Further reading

• Globus, Alfred R. "Veritism". Long Island City, N.Y., Distributed by the Veritism Foundation, 1968? Reprinted in 1988 by the Foundation for Science & Theology
• Kierkegaard on the Internet: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age, Hubert Dreyfus, 2004.
• Nietzsche: Nihilism (Volume IV), Martin Heidegger, Harper & Row, San Francisco, CA, 1982.