The Normative Value of Truth and the Problem of Lie

The article concerns the normative value of truth in relation to lie. Based on arguments derived primarily from ancient philosophers （Eubulides, Plato, Aristotle）, medieval philosophers （St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas）, the thinker of the Renaissance---Machiavelli, the main philosopher of the Enlightenment--Kant, the 19th-century author of Beyond Good and Evil （Nietzsche）, and contemporary thinkers such as Derrida and Lacan, the author considers here truth as a normative value. Lying is relative to the truth, and it has no ontological legitimacy, even it cannot exist without truth itself. In the final part of the article, the author concludes that the truth, however, cannot lead to clearly had effects, be harmful or cause pain disproportionate to the effects caused by lie. Therefore, it must coexist with the good--the other parent value. Only when both values complement each other can we talk about the normative value of truth. The truth should be correlated with other values on which value systems are based, especially the good of a person or group of persons, avoiding harm towards others, and the protection of a person＇s health and life. Only then can the truth be appropriate to use. It is not an immovable foundation, but a dynamically functioning value, in which language and the ethical （active） dimensions provide the value of the specified situations. The truth can be a double-edged sword： It may hurt, but it can defend itself. The latter function seems to be the most important type of the normativity of truth.

Arabidopsis Protein Phosphatase 2C ABI1 Interacts with Type I ACC Synthases and Is Involved in the Regulation of Ozone-Induced Ethylene Biosynthesis

Ethylene plays a crucial role in various biological processes and therefore its biosynthesis is strictly regu- lated by multiple mechanisms. Posttranslational regulation, which is pivotal in controlling ethylene biosynthesis, impacts 1-aminocyclopropane 1-carboxylate synthase （ACS） protein stability via the complex interplay of specific factors. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana protein phosphatase type 2C, ABI1, a negative regulator of abscisic acid signaling, is involved in the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis under oxidative stress conditions. We found that ABI1 interacts with ACS6 and dephosphorylates its C-terminal fragment, a target of the stress-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinase, MPK6. In addition, ABI1 controls MPK6 activity directly and by this means also affects the ACS6 phosphorylation level. Consistently with this, ozone-induced ethylene production was significantly higher in an ABI1 knockout strain （abiltd） than in wild-type plants. Importantly, an increase in stress-induced ethylene production in the abiltd mutant was compen- sated by a higher ascorbate redox state and elevated antioxidant activities. Overall, the results of this study provide evi- dence that ABI1 restricts ethylene synthesis by affecting the activity of ACS6. The ABI1 contribution to stress phenotype underpins its role in the interplay between the abscisic acid （ABA） and ethylene signaling pathways.