November 26, 2012

• The Truth About Truth

  Originally posted May 14, 2010 on my NaitoOfNarnia account.

  I recommend a post I wrote a while back on the same subject. It’s not quite as “refined” as this post is, but in it I compare the subjects of truth, perception and opinion. I also recommend CS Lewis’ book, “Mere Christianity”, as he delves deeper into this topic of Truth as he builds up to his case for why Christianity works and how that it works at all.

  In the meantime, read on!

  “What defines Truth? Is Truth what IS, or is Truth simply “what works for you”, or a combination? Explain your thoughts.”

  LIE =/= TRUTH
  First, consider the nature of a Lie. A Lie is meant to deter you from the Truth. A Lie can be anything, but the one thing it cannot be is the Truth it is designed to steer you away from.

  So if a Lie is something that is not the Truth, then a simple way to shorten the concept of a Lie is that it is “what is not”. Sounds like a funny phrase, right?

  Therefore, if a lie is “what is not”, then Truth must be “what is”, or as I say, Truth is what is. It’s like a simple math statement: 1+3 is 4. Obviously “is” could also be the equal sign. But either way, “is” is showing that both statements – “1+3″ and “4″ – are the same thing. No matter how you put it – “4=3+1″ or “3+1=4″, etc – both sides of the “is” are equal. The Truth about “3+1″ is that it equals, or is, “4″. When “3″ and “1″ are combined, they cannot be anything else but “4″. The Truth is the same way: by nature, Truth states what it is equal to based on the factors at hand: meaning the subject of what the Truth is referring to.

  OFF THE BEATEN PATH
  To venture on a tangent, a short review of the definition of “is” (as well as “be”) will show you that the very word refers, basically, to matters of what is real. “Is”, when talking about present tense – that which is in the here-and-now – is most often the focus of Truth, but can refer to subjects of past or future tenses (that which was or will be).

  THROUGH ROSE-TINTED GLASSES
  Another thing to consider is the nature of “what is”. In no way does this leave room for Perception, which a lot of people argue for when trying to support their view on Absolute Truth.

  Some people will perceive something to be what it is not, intentionally or not. But that is only how they see it. It, the Truth, does not suddenly become what is perceived simply because that is how it is understood. If I say, “Grass is green,” but you accidentally perceive my spoken words as, “Brass is keen,” have my actual spoken words changed? Of course not. The Truth is that I said “Grass is green.”

  Perception cannot be how we see Truth and also Truth, itself. Now, it would be correct to say that the Truth of how we see a particular subject that claims to be Truth is our particular Perception. Said another way: it is true that we see Truth in a particular way. But that sets up two different aspects: the Truth of how we perceive Something, and the Something, itself. In this case, that Something is the subject of Absolute Truth.

  TO-MAY-TO, TO-MAH-TO
  Next is the matter of Relative Truth. Relative Truth suggests that matters of Truth are only applicable to each individual, no matter how they differ when they are when compared to other people’s Perceptions of Truth or how contradictory when applied in a more absolute fashion.

  Relative Truth is a tricky subject, for it either works or fails depending on its application. But a key point to remember is the very word “relative”. It literally refers to that which is related to something. So Relative Truth simply means Truth which is related – or perhaps isolated – to the individual or group in question as compared to other individuals or groups.

  If I was speaking about my favorite color, which is green, then that would be a Relative Truth: my favorite color is green. I might say that the best color in the world is green (it is, after all…duh!), but that is only according to my own Perception; my own Preferences, as it is. In Truth, I, personally, favor green above all the others. It is merely a Preference: the Truth is that my favorite color is green; nothing more.

  But, if I hold to my claim that green is the best color in the world, I am making more than a statement of Preference and going beyond Perception: I am saying that regardless of my Preferences and Perceptions, green will always be the best color, period.

  Given the nature of colors, it would be a difficult thing to measure such a claim. There is no existing standard that states, apart from any other opinion, which color ranks above the others. And because this is a claim that the Truth is that green is the best, there has to be a standard against which I can measure my claim.

  Therein rests the heart of the issue, I believe. When we state that Something is the Truth, we are making a reference to something which exists apart from us, apart from our reference, even if it’s a personal reference. If Truth is what is, then it exists alone with nothing that can affect its state in reality.

  If I pointed to a house and noted that the house is white (and let’s assume for argument’s sake that it is, indeed, white), then my (Relative) claim concerning Truth cannot be the claim for Truth and also the Truth about white house. I am stating what that Truth is about that particular subject of Truth. If I incorrectly claimed that the white house is blue, the house is not also blue simply because I claimed it is. It is there that we see more clearly how the claim for Truth cannot also be the Truth, itself.

  COMPARING APPLES AND CARROTS
  Concerning the problem with Relative Truth when sought to be used as Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth exists as Truth that is what it is completely unto itself. Again, it cannot be affected by any outside factors, such as Perception. This also goes beyond Relative Truth, by nature, because Relative Truth only exists as it relates to the individual or group.

  When Relative Truth is applied as if it were Absolute Truth, it immediately begins to contradict itself by its own nature. If Relative Truth is only Truth as it applies to an isolated case, then its very nature of relativism cancels itself out because it is being used to cover the issue of Absolute Truth. Since Relative Truth is affected by whom it is related to, then clearly it cannot be Truth equal to all others as Absolute Truth is.

  Absolute Truth will say the house is absolutely white. Relative Truth will say the house is or appears to be blue as it concerns the person saying so and will be stated as if it were Absolute Truth. A Lie will try to convince you that the house is blue absolutely despite the Absolute Truth that it is white.

  That, in a “nutshell”, is the essence of Truth.

  • 3:45 pm
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