Truth Integrity

Definition

Truth Integrity is the system’s fidelity to reality, or the degree to which information is accurate, verifiable, and preserved as it moves across roles, structures, and time. In Meaning System Science, Truth Integrity is the T-variable in the Law of Moral Proportion and represents the structural grounding of the system in verified reality.

Truth Integrity is not a personal virtue or an intention. It is a structural condition that determines whether meaning can remain stable as pressure increases.

Scientific Lineage

Truth Integrity emerges from the semantic tradition:

• Gottlob Frege – sense and reference

• Alfred Tarski – semantic truth theory

• Donald Davidson – truth-conditional semantics

• Saul Kripke – reference and necessity

• Hilary Putnam – semantic externalism

Meaning System Science extends these traditions by treating truth as a system-level force, not only a linguistic property. Truth must survive transmission, decision-making, and structural constraints to maintain integrity.

Components of Truth Integrity

Meaning System Science identifies three measurable components:

Accuracy

Whether information corresponds to observable reality.

Auditability

Whether claims and data can be checked, traced, and verified.

Fidelity

Whether truth maintains its meaning as it moves through communication channels, hierarchy, and time.

Together, these form the semantic stability of the system.

Truth Integrity in Meaning System Science

Truth Integrity determines:

• whether perception matches reality

• whether decisions reflect real conditions

• whether power responds to accurate information

• how much drift accumulates from inaccurate or distorted truth

• whether signals carry insight or error

• whether structures correct distortion or amplify it

High truth integrity stabilizes meaning.
Low truth integrity accelerates drift.

Relationship to the Legitimacy Equation

Truth Integrity forms the first variable in:

L = (T × P × C) ÷ D

This means:

• When T is strong, alignment and coherence have a stable anchor.

• When T collapses, no amount of power or structural clarity can compensate.

• Low T produces misalignment, confusion, and accelerated drift.

Truth Integrity sets the upper limit of system stability.

Distinction from Adjacent Concepts

Truth Integrity is distinct from:

Trust – an affective outcome, not a measure of accuracy.
Transparency – structural openness, not truth’s fidelity.
Honesty – intention, not systemic reliability.
Consensus – agreement, not alignment with reality.

Truth Integrity evaluates the system’s relationship to reality, not individual behavior.

Truth Integrity and Drift

Truth Integrity strongly regulates drift:

• High truth integrity slows drift by stabilizing interpretation.

• Low truth integrity increases drift by multiplying contradictions and errors.

• Distorted truth produces thermodynamic overload, accelerating meaning entropy.

Truth Integrity is therefore the primary early predictor of meaning-system collapse.

Organizational Implications

Truth Integrity determines:

• how quickly systems misinterpret reality

• how deeply errors propagate

• whether governance corrects or amplifies inaccuracies

• whether leaders act proportionately or reactively

• whether strategy remains viable

Without Truth Integrity, execution becomes inconsistent, alignment collapses, and drift intensifies across the system.

Applications in Transformation Science and LDP-1.0

Truth Integrity is central to:

• diagnosis of drift (LDP-1.0)

• structural analysis of breakdowns

• assessment of decision quality

• early detection of misalignment

• evaluation of clarity during transformation

• reading AI-generated signal fidelity

• designing systems that resist semantic distortion