Note: Huddle!

I write this as more of a note than a letter, so forgive me, but I must cover one more thing regarding truth. It is my response to a concept that I hear far too frequently, that “truth is relative, dependent upon the person interpreting and their perception of it”. This is a misunderstanding that in my opinion, stems out of the goodness of people’s hearts, wanting to avoid confrontation and maintain the peace. It is a misconception so common that it has acquired its own catch phrase - “Perception is Reality”. However, I would hope the reader would understand that such is not true. Perception of truth does not equal truth. If you recall, the dictionary definition of truth that we discussed in Letter 1 made that very point. Allow me to further make that point with an example.

 

For every given person, the question can be asked, “Are they dead or alive”. The truth to this question is generally easy to pin down. However, if the person is dead, the question, “How did they die?” is much more difficult, even impossible to accurately ascertain, but this does not mean that the truth on the matter somehow ceases to exist and becomes relative dependent upon the person interpreting the data regarding the cause of death. If such were the case, what point would a murder trial (or any other trial as far as that goes) have as everyone’s conclusion, no matter how different they may be, would hold equal weight.

 

It is not questions such as these that have led to this misconception of truth. As a rule of thumb, if we as humans feel that we have concrete, tangible means of gathering data on a question, we tend to believe that the truth on the matter is singular and we only need find it. However, when it comes to questions that hold their truths in places that our senses cannot detect and/or which lie hidden beneath layers of complexity that are deep enough to discourage the truth seeker from seeking… well, this is the poison soil where truth being relative finds its roots. The question of all questions, “Is there a God who created all things?” lies firmly in the realms of this territory and it therefore is deemed by many to have an answer that is relative. Answers to the other of life’s great questions that stem from this question, “What is God like?”- “Is there a purpose to life?” lie so far away from being tangibly ascertained that I find nearly everyone is wanton to concede relativity. However, doing so amounts to no more than a cop-out.

 

The truth does exist on all matters and whether it be a topic of Science, Religion or the controversial grounds where they cross, allowing the difficulty of the search to get you to settle for the best you can personally come up with at any given point in time does you no good service.

 

Never stop searching for the truth…

 

Joshua

Reviews

[nenestarrs]

I agree "perception of truth does not equal truth". We, as humans do tend to be people who are reluctant to hurt another persons feelings. However, the truth on the questions you put out will always be different for everyone. How many others out there will miss the point or maybe not even ready for the answer. Good subject, thought provoking.

[Vivek Koshy]

“Truth is relative dependent upon the person who is interpreting and their perception of it”
"perception of truth does not equal truth"
both agreed.

But when you say
"the question can be asked, “Are they dead or alive”"
dont we have to question ourselves the same? to ascertain him dead is difficult as we consider ourselves as alive. I think its just two frames that we end up with, and memory cant be a good proof.

Nice thought, good work...always love stuff that has to be thought than to breeze through!