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True Is Right Because We Made It So

Have you ever noticed that we say something is "right" when it's true or correct, but never "left"?

Examples like:


  • "That's the right answer."


  • "Do the right thing."


But you'll never hear:


  • "That's the left answer."


  • "You're absolutely left."

So what gives? Why do we link "right" with truth and correctness, but leave "left" behind?


It Begins With Human Anatomy


Over 85% of the population is right-handed. That would have meant, throughout history, the "right" hand was the one used to eat, write, and engage with tools. Right, then, became identified with skill, control, and reliability. The left hand, less used, less reliable, took on a negative sense.


Even in Latin, "right" is dexter (the source of "dexterity"), while "left" is sinistra (the source of the word sinister). Already, language was coding the "right" as good or true.


The Evolution of Language


As societies advanced, this bias seeped into moral and logical language. "Right" no longer simply meant the opposite of left—it came to mean correct, true. That's why we now have such expressions as:


  • "The right answer"


  • "The right way"


All of this means not only direction, but a value judgment—what's proper, moral, or true.


"Left" Gets Left Behind


Unfortunately, "Left" did not share the same value. "Left" in English comes from Old English lyft, meaning weak or useless. That's an association shared by many languages.

"Left" evolved into not only the opposite of direction, but of what is right in every sense. Even now, "left" does not appear in instances where correctness or truth are argued.


What This Means for "True"


Japanese writing of the word "Truth"
Japanese writing of the word "Truth"

So when we say something is "right," we're not just giving a directional cue—we're echoing centuries of bias, convention, and linguistic drift. "Right" means "true" not because it is, but because history, culture, and language made it so.


"True is right"—but only because we made it so

Resources




Oldfield, R. C. (1971). The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia, 9(1), 97–113. doi:10.1016/0028-3932(71)90067-4 


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