Truth is strong and sometime or other it will prevail. –Mary Astell
This morning, Gentle Reader, we will continue to explore the question: Does ‘Truth’ Really Matter? Because of our love of ‘spinning’ – in this case, spinning the ‘Truth’ – we have become less trusting and more cynical (especially when we hear someone say: ‘Trust me, I am telling you the truth!’). In PART I: I invited us to briefly consider three nutrients that feed our Cynicism when it comes to defining and embracing the concept ‘Truth’. In PART I we briefly explored ‘Relativism.’ We continue today briefly exploring the two other nutrients: ‘Fundamentalism’ and ‘Scientific Truth.’
Fundamentalism. ‘Relativism’ is fluid (to say the least) and ‘Fundamentalism’ is solid (a bit of an understatement). The Dictionary is helpful: ‘Fundamentalism is a movement or an attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles.’ Fundamentalism is the polar opposite of Relativism. The fundamentalist’s stand: ‘There is ‘THE TRUTH’ and I have it – and if you do not believe ‘THE TRUTH’ then you do not have truth – at worst you are blasphemous.’
Our diverse, pluralistic society is not served well by fundamentalism – when it comes to having ‘THE TRUTH.’ With the relativist, when truth is defined so broadly that it becomes meaningless so it is with the fundamentalist: when truth is defined too narrowly it also becomes meaningless (if one believes that a diverse, pluralistic society is crucial in order for democracy to survive and thrive).
Fundamentalism, that is. ‘surety,’ kills creativity, experimentation, searching and seeking – if I am ‘sure’ then why would I inquire or question or search? Potential garden enriching differences (seeds, roots, shoots and plants) are not allowed to ‘come alive’ and serve the garden that is society. Consider that relativism says, ‘there are no weeds’ and that fundamentalism says ‘I know the weeds – any truth that is not my truth or any inquiry into my truth (e.g. ‘doubt’) are the weeds.’ Given this polarity – Relativism & Fundamentalism – some strive to seek the truth through science: ‘Scientific Truth.’
Scientific Truth. Scientific Truth enables us to see and understand ‘Cause-Effect’ relationships. It enables us to ‘hold’ an idea (if not a truth) and ‘explore’ it (disconfirm it) at the same time. It allows us to say: ‘if this…then this’ (we can predict somethings). But alas, Scientific Truth is not all that we want it to be. Consider how much fabrication there is of research data, or, for example, how many drug making companies withhold certain results in order to get their product to market. How many folks deny Scientific Truth (‘proof’ if you will): Climate change, Evolution, and when human life begins are popular generators of angry debates and even deadly actions. If the scientist, like the rest of us, is primarily motivated first by emotions then how ‘objective’ can the scientist really be? Scientists, unlike relativists and fundamentalists are more ‘theory-driven’ than ‘truth-driven’ and hence are seeking ‘disconfirmation’ just as much as they are seeking ‘confirmation.’
‘Truth’ is not an easy concept for us contemporary folk; it continues to be – as it was for the ancient wisdom figures, a complex, if not elusive, concept. ‘Truth’ is likely to continue to generate doubt, confusion, division (often rooted in ‘surety’), spin, lies, guilt-free killing, or worse, guilt-free genocide. These responses alone might well mean that in deed ‘Truth does Matter!’ – It has always mattered and it will continue to matter. Truth will continue to matter for it is one of the ‘pearls of great price’ that we humans are searching for.
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little a truth we find bitter. –Denis Diderot
Searcher-Seeker 