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The truth -- a slippery concept, to be sure. So slippery, in fact, that an entire philosophical field, epistemology, is in large part dedicated to discussing the question of what truth is. The Gale Encyclopedia of Philosophy's treatment of knowledge (WSU Login required) is useful for understanding the concept of truth:
The traditional analysis of knowledge is that it is a combination of three conditions: truth, belief, and justification. The idea is that for someone to have factual knowledge, what is known has to be a fact and thus true; the person has to regard it as true, that is, believe it; and the person must have an adequate basis for believing it—that is, have sufficient justification for believing it. These conditions yield knowledge defined as a sufficiently justified true belief.
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Truth (noun) 1. the quality of being true, genuine, actual, or factual: the truth of his statement was attested 2.
something that is true as opposed to false: you did not tell me the truth
3.
a proven or verified principle or statement; fact: the truths of astronomy
4.
(usually pl) a system of concepts purporting to represent some aspect of the world: the truths of ancient religions
5.
fidelity to a required standard or law
6.
faithful reproduction or portrayal: the truth of a portrait
7.
an obvious fact; truism; platitude
8.
honesty, reliability, or veracity: the truth of her nature
9.
accuracy, as in the setting, adjustment, or position of something, such as a mechanical instrument
10.
the state or quality of being faithful; allegiance
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Truth (noun) 1 The quality or state of being true. ‘he had to accept the truth of her accusation’
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While it may be easy to say, "a lie is the opposite of truth," more complete definitions are available. To be specific, this page considers the noun form of the word "lie," as opposed to the verb, "to lie." Drawing from the Random House Dictionary, for example, dictionary.com offers the following definition:
Also adapted by dictionary.com, The Collins English Dictionary offers a similar definition:
The key point these definitions underscore in different ways is a lie must have a calculated intent to mislead or deceive behind it. Merely repeating inaccurate information out of ignorance isn't "lying" per se. Repeating that information while knowing it to be false or inaccurate, by contrast, is lying. In an academic context, a student or researcher has the responsibility to verify information before repeating it to ensure it is valid and truthful, and thus avoid inadvertently presenting false or misleading information, or outright lying.
