We have to live today by what truth we can get today, and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.
William James (1842 - 1910)
But are jurors valid truth tellers? After all, you no doubt read about or have heard of instances were jurors came back with a seemingly unjustifiable verdict. Were the jurors mislead or mistaken? Is there a difference if the outcome is already decided? |
1. Meh (A multi-purpose response, primarily used to imply a degree of indifference).
Have you ever been in a class and watched the clock move backwards? Why was that? Were you bored? Have something better to do? Not interested? Didn't care?
Sometimes, learning isn't fun. And knowledge is not enough of an incentive to encourage us to try. But does that mean that the truth doesn't matter? For that matter, is the truth even attainable?
2. Absolute vs. Relative Truth
Have you ever had someone tell you couldn't do something? When asked 'why?', was their answer 'because I said so'? How did you react?Well, depending on your age, you may have reacted with anything from a tantrum to contemplation (which, by the way, is called a continuum, but more on that later). From your perspective (and depending on your age), the answer was either unquestionable or negotiable. This, then, reflects the difference between absolute and relative truth. That is, absolute truth means that there is only one possible answer, whereas relative truth suggests and permits variation as fits the observer and audience.
For example, the question 'what is 2+2?' has an absolute answer = 4. However, the answer to the question 'why is math important?' varies widely. But can truth be called truth if it is relative? And if not, does absolute truth tell us anything important?
3. Nihilism
Nihilism popularly originated in Russia after Ivan Turgenev used it in his famous novel Fathers and Sons. However, nihilism is more often associated with Germany, especially the philosopher Nietzsche. Nietzsche argued that true knowledge was impossible to attain since we are varied and destructive beings.In essence, Nietzsche had little faith in humanity's ability to circumvent the problems of its own creation, and so true knowledge was impossible to gain.
Not surprisingly, unlike Pyrrho and Sextus nihilists do not believe in Ataraxia!
But is a general distrust in the human spirit enough to extinguish the search for truth?
4. What's in a Name?
In ancient cultures, names held power. Indeed, the giving of your name often signified a deep seated trust, a named-based olive branch if you will, since to know someone's name was to have power over them. The name represented more than just your calling card - it was your identity. Even today, names are significant. For example, think back to the last time you had trouble pronouncing a name; did you attach any implications to this (whether positive or negative)? If so, what were they and where did they stem from? Or consider the ever-widening debate around online privacy. Why would anonymity matter then?But does providing a name tell you anything about the person? Or is it merely a convenient label for summarizing the individual? If your name is Max or Plato, does that truly make a difference? Or is the difference only a result of how people treat you?
Truth carries with it the same connotations. Can you see how?
5. The Victors Write the History Books
Perhaps you have heard this phrase. If you haven't, the concept is simple: those who win wars (physical, mental, spiritual, etc) determine how history will remember the event. After all, what is the difference between a revolution and a rebellion?
For that matter, which is the truth? And how can the absolute truth be known if one side is largely unaccounted for?
You have all heard of Leo Tolstoy - a Russian author who wrote the monumental book, War and Peace. Please read the first two pages of the 2nd Epilogue, Chapter IX (it's a rather long book so it will take a minute for Google Books to load up the whole book, and then you need to scroll to near the end to find the 2nd Epilogue, Chapter IX. Click War & Peace to open it. In this brief bit of writing Tolstoy makes the case for the notion that "The Victors write the History." You will find several quotes in there that will help you to support that idea, at least from Tolstoy's perspective.
On a side note, I have read War & Peace on two different occasions - it's such a large novel that it came in two thick paperbacks. I highly recommend that you make it a project of yours to get a copy and read it, it's worth the effort.
6. It is madness, yet there is method to it...
Speaking of labeling people, where did the label 'mad' come from? Today, people with mental disorders are often categorized as being abnormal, and may even be separated from society. Yet, in olden times, these same people would be categorized as having received a divine message from God. Why the change? Which is the truth?
Well, perhaps neither. Famed philosopher Michael Foucault, in his paper Madness and Civilization, outlines how our society moved from acceptance to isolation with regards to abnormality. He outlines how civilization's growing health and expansion encouraged a review of things different from the masses. With this, then, came the concept of normality, and then, necessarily too, abnormality. Soon abnormality was seen to oppose normality, and so was deemed dangerous.
So what does this mean for truth? Well, if a certain segment of the population is removed (whether physically or otherwise), then clearly their weltanschauung is not heeded. And if a portion of the public's viewpoint is omitted, can any decisions truly be said to reflect everyone's 'best interest'?
Did you know?
Witness testimony in a trial often determines a jury's verdict. That verdict, then, affects the defendant's life. Clearly, such a decision is important and considering that life imprisonment is an option, here truth must be evident.But can it be? Many studies have shown that perception and bias impact an eye witness' knowledge of the event in question, especially when time delays are involved. Little details such as height, shirt colour, hour and location can have a huge impact on a trial.
So what does this mean for truth?
Eye Witness Testimony Concerns
7. Sometimes a Pipe Is Just a Pipe
Sigmund Freud is perhaps one of the best known psychiatrists. Indeed, he did much to label
In his practice of psychoanalysis, Freud delved deeply into the psyches of several patients. His goal was to determine the underlying cause for mental disorders, especially neurotic behaviour. He concluded that unconscious sexual desires played a large role in such illnesses.
However, Freud's subjects were all suffering from some sort of mental malady. So, can his theories, derived from such sources, be considered valid? In other words, is there any truth to them?
8. So, there's no point then?
No? Yes?
You decide.
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