During this prolonged political election cycle, many people have argued using the word “truth”, as the core rational for their decision to support one candidate over the other.
They state things like your truth isn’t the same as my truth, when confronted with an accusation that someone is lying about something (or everything). They come back with, but so and so also lies about a lot too. Somehow rationalizing that 2 opposing lies, somehow cancel each other out.
In reality the argument seems to end up with – What is Truth anyways?
I recently watched a video of a man in search of the answer to that question. He spent a long time traveling around to speak with philosophers and scholars, hoping to find the answer. Each person he spoke with used many big words and phrases that most normal people could never understand. They each were passionate about their responses, and every single one of them stated that there isn’t one simple answer to the question. They referred to different philosophic rationale, methods of looking at things, along with many teaching points and examples to support their positions.
As it ends up, the key point made was that the question itself is flawed to start with!
Searching for the meaning of truth is not something that will make many people happy, because it isn’t just one ah ha thing. Definitions of many words are like that though.
What is it that causes your perception of something to be what you think it is?
Is it because someone once told you?
Is it because you read it in a book, or saw it with your own eyes, or heard it with your own ears?
Was it Something you learned?
Is it Something that you believe is true?
I believe in things that can be scientifically proven. I think that I am biased to think that way because of my education, and background.
I find that things that can be defined and supported with facts, usually help me determine if they are true or false.
1 + 2 = 3, is a true statement because that is what I was taught to believe.
Things that cannot be supported by facts, might be supported by theories which are based on math or science or things that have been written, taught, and believed over the years.
Things that cannot be supported by facts but might be supported by theories, not based on anything but unsubstantiated opinions, I have a tendency of not necessarily believing right away.
I am very hesitant, until I can research to try and determine if the opinion base theories are able to be rationalized as “true” or “not true”.
In statistics, there is a question that I recall which kind of sums this up.
Can the null be proven?
I find that opinion-based theories which some believe to be true , regardless if the null proves it to be untrue, are created with deception in mind.
The purpose of the deception is to inject just a possibility that the opinion is true (or that the opposing view could never be true), thus making the lie be considered true.
As the search for the meaning of Truth continued on, one philosopher used the idea that truth matches reality, but the problem being is that reality is really just a state of mind.
The mind can alter reality when under certain influences. Influences can be temporary, or forever. many things influence what you believe is real. If a person has taken drugs, they might really actually believe that they can do something that they cannot do.
Watch me, I can fly! Not true, no matter if they momentarily believe that that can.
And then there is the problem of not knowing in the first place.
How can anything be considered true – if you have never been exposed or thought about that particular thing?
Lack of knowledge, experience, or thought – leaves the question moot. How can a particular idea, thought, opinion, philosophy, or anything really – be true or false, when it has no meaning to you?
Did the people long ago, way before science and philosophy, even think about what was true or a lie?
Fire is very hot – don’t touch it. The darkness comes and goes.
It is more comfortable wearing something wrapped around your body, when it is cold out.
Why did making sure that Truth matters become something people even cared about?
Some people think that everyone should be able to believe anything that they want to, so long as it doesn’t impact anyone else.
The problem is, many times that philosophy ends up impacting others in not so good ways. When deception and lies are used to influence people into doing bad things to others, it is wrong!
Beware of the deceiver.
I have tried to share my thoughts on many things that I hear, read, and see – which are not true.
I have tried showing data and research to support my argument.
I’m the long run, people reading it can choose to believe me or not. Either way, it’s still going to be what I believe is true, because I will question things and do my due diligence.
I pray people will do the same, but I have my doubts.
Ruminati 