The Quest for Absolute Truth: Beyond Shouting and Post-Truth Reality
Truth often faces challenges when it is forced to compete with the clamor of a world where shouting is equated with authority. In a landscape where voices elevate themselves through repetition rather than authenticity, it is crucial to revisit the foundation of truth and the methods by which we seek it.
Establishing Independence in Truth
The concept of truth is subtle and often misunderstood. It is an independent entity, existing beyond the realm of subjective perceptions and the need for grand declarations. A whisper can resonate across continents, just as loudly as a shout, provided the content is true and unalterable.
The Importance of Diligent Analysis
To determine the validity of a statement, one must engage in rigorous analysis. This process involves making connections to established facts and principles, ensuring that what is proclaimed as truth is indeed anchored in reality.
All Truth is Absolute, Even the Least Little Truth
Every grain of truth, no matter how minor, carries the same weight as the most significant truth. However, our understanding and estimation of these truths are inherently fallible. Knowledge approximates truth, but it is rarely, if ever, absolute. This is where the challenge lies in the post-truth reality we navigate today.
Methods of Seeking Truth: A Historical Perspective
Throughout history, various methods have been employed in the quest for truth. However, most of these methods have proven to be unreliable. Let us explore the follies and failures of two predominant approaches:
Authority
Authority is not synonymous with expertise. It is a position of control, not a repository of knowledge.
The practice of regulating "misinformation" often veers into censorship under the guise of control.
Arguments from authority, as observed by the ancient Greeks, are often flawed.
Voting and the Truth
Voting on truth is a misguided method. It fails to produce a collective wisdom, merely aggregating mediocrities.
Seven million people can be collectively wrong, regardless of their numbers.
The consensus of an informed and intelligent populace is more likely to approximate truth, but this is not the standard.
Valid Methods for Seeking Truth
To discern the validity of a method, one must look at its historical impact: does it empower people in ways they have never achieved before?
Laws of Logic: The Foundation of Truth
Educating ourselves in the laws of logic is crucial, but even the principles of deductive reasoning are not absolute. What appears to make sense to us is often a result of cultural and psychological habits rather than inherent truths.
These truths, when applied, enable us to live effectively in the world and increase the powers of human beings. The validity of a method lies not only in its ability to uncover absolute truths but in its ability to serve humanity by enhancing our understanding and capabilities.
Thus, in our pursuit of absolute truth, we must remain vigilant, skeptical, and unyielding. We must challenge the authorities, question the crowds, and always pursue the path of rigorous analysis and logic to ensure that what we believe in is not just noise, but the real echo of truth.