A criterion of truth is any standard that is used to differentiate between true beliefs and false beliefs. Criteria of truth are also often called standards of verification because they are the means by which we verify the accuracy of certain claims. The criteria of custom, tradition, and authority are fundamentally social in nature. A person does not rely upon custom, tradition, or authority in isolation; their use is predicated upon particular social systems and relationships which people learn from they time they are very young. Indeed, these criteria are often so ingrained in us that we don’t always realize that we are using them.
That, however, is very often the problem because neither custom nor tradition are very reliable means for assessing the truth of a belief, while authority is only reliable in very particular contexts. If people do not know that they are relying upon these criteria, then they also cannot understand why they shouldn’t do so in the first place and move on to something better. Too often, reliance upon standards of custom, tradition, and authority characterizes a person who simply isn’t thinking very hard about the topic.
To be fair, it also isn’t always necessary to take the time necessary to think about every single idea out there. If we never relied upon custom, tradition, or authority and instead worked out every little detail for ourselves, it is unlikely that we would ever get anything done. They are, in a sense, social habits — a way of thinking and acting that comes automatically so that we can focus our attention on more important matters.
Very often custom and tradition are confused with one another. This is not unreasonable because customs usually become tradition and traditions are usually social customs. There is, however, a genuine difference. A custom is simply whatever is common or popular in society, regardless of whether it is ancient or of relatively recent origin. Custom comes into play most often when it comes to how people dress and the sorts of expressions they use. It is employed as a criterion of truth whenever someone argues, in some fashion, that anything popular must also be better and closer to what is required by reality.
Tradition, however, is something which has endured for many generations. It may be widely popular as a custom, but it might also continue with just a small subset of society. Whenever tradition is used as a criterion of truth, it is assumed that whatever has lasted this long must also be more correct — otherwise, it would have been replaced by now. Tradition is no better than custom when it comes to separating truth from falsehood — indeed, it is an accepted logical fallacy known as “Appeal to Tradition.”
Authority is somewhat different from custom and tradition because it is capable of being a valid means for determining the truth of a belief. When a person is an expert in the area of knowledge under consideration, the statement of the authority concerns his or her area of mastery, and there is agreement among experts in the area of knowledge under consideration, then it would be justified for us to accept as “true” the statements from this person as a figure of authority.
Outside of that context, however, the statements from a so-called authority should be treated very cautiously, and it would not be legitimate for us to distinguish between true and false ideas based merely on this person’s testimony alone. To do so commits the fallacy known as Argumentum ad Verecundiam, or Appeal to Authority.
