How do internal relations support the idealist theory of truth?

In idealism, the doctrine of internal relations posits that relations are not merely external additions to things but are essential to the nature of the terms themselves. Unlike nonidealist views that define truth as a correspondence between a proposition and an independent state of affairs, idealists argue that terms and their relations logically determine one another.1

Because every part of reality is intrinsically connected to every other part, the idealist theory of truth is defined by coherence. In this framework, ultimate reality is viewed as a system of judgments or propositions that form a harmonious whole. Consequently, the truth of any individual judgment is not found in isolation but is determined by its place and consistency within that total system. This implies that there are degrees of truth, as a judgment’s validity reflects its integration into the broader, coherent structure of reality. For example, the significance of an event or object—such as a person’s actions or a physical resource—is entirely dependent on its relationship to the wider context of history, morality, or economic systems.12