Many of us claim to be searching for the truth, but do we even know what that is? Google will tell us that a truth is something that is true-- helpful little fucker that she is. We would then find, should we take the time to look, that something that is true is said to be something that is a fact, or that is in accordance with reality.
Well, we know that facts are often proved false, just as we know that reality can be augmented. So how then does one discern what is true, and consequently, what is truth?
Well I have examined enough truth-seekers -- myself among them-- and I have found that the truth is nothing more than an answer that is sufficient enough to stop one from asking more questions. You could think of the truth as a drug. A little red pill that provides a temporary respite from cognitive dissonance-- and we are all junkies for it.
But if we all require different explanations to be convinced on what reality is, and therefore hold differing truths to one another, does that mean there is no tangible, constant reality at all?
I would say no, it does not mean this. Of course I am just a random dude on the other end of the internet. But it is my truth, that there is a reality that is actual and concrete, and that it is our ability to perceive that reality in a unique way that provides us with our individuality.
So what is truth? It's a word. What we are really looking for is answers. Answers that are sufficient enough to allow us to stop trying to make sense of things for a moment. But what if the real way to obtain what we believe those answers will give us, is simply to overcome the desire to find them?
Perhaps by removing the words "why," what," "when" and "how" from our vocabularies, we could also remove the grip on our perception of reality. Maybe then we might learn to look upon one another as equal.
Of course, this is a fantasy. I more than many know how bothersome that itch can become(to the one reader with herpes who nodded their head to that sentence, I meant the itch of curiosity). To unburden yourself of questions is not a task one could easily accomplish. So we shall likely remain with our different perceptions, and our different truths.
I am not giving up hope just yet, however. I believe that one day the human race may arrive at a shared understanding. One which reveals the necessity of our different interpretations of truth, for;
It is our unique interpretations of reality that provide us with freedom, with choice, and with beauty. Yet this is a universe of balance, so conversely, it also provides us with the capacity to take freedom from others, force their choices upon them, and perform the ugliest of actions.
If we all thought the same, we would do the same, and this world would be one painted in a singular shade of grey. The next time you get infuriated because someone else has accepted an opposing truth to you, recognise that they are the reason you see colour in the world, then thank them for it.
That's what the truth is-- to me. The thing that makes you someone different from me, and the thing that makes life have any meaning at all.
What is the truth to you?
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I'm actually quite close to the OP:
"Truth" is - before anything else - a word, and the best way to understand what a word means is by looking at when a person uses it and to what ends he/she tends to use it.
In the case of "truth", we almost always use it when there is a perceived threat of de-legitimation from some challenger. We sense that this challenger will, or might accuse us of saying things that aren't true. Other times we might actively put our own good name on the line in order to reinforce an assertion by saying something like: "I don't just think it; I know it to be true." And so on.
"True" and "false", then, are the social practices by which we stabilize, social and internalize the meanings of our words and terms. They are the ways in which we go around (de)legitimizing each other's inferences and assertions.
As such, all linguistic communities necessarily have some standards for truth and falsehood... but this doesn't mean that they all have - or ought to have - identical standards.
But that's just my own opinion that may or may not be true. :)
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Truth is what you believe is true, and what most believe it's true. Truth can change as the time goes by. Truth is a subjective and abstract fact that one believes after he received a set of information. This is what I believe truth is!
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Beautiful post! Very thought provoking. What is truth indeed, to me there is no definitive truth, it is always in movement, changing as we advance through life, it is different for each of us inside our very being, it can be glimpsed in moments of clarity. A mysterious but essential part of life. Thanks for writing your thoughts on such a interesting question!
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I agree with Google. The truth is that which is true. That which is true are those things that can not be demonstrated to be otherwise. This is the difference between truth, and facts, data, or other types of correct information. The truth is more substantial than information. And when one knows the truth, they are made free because knowing the truth brings with it a quality of experience that can not be replicated by any other means.
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