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Does an Objective Truth Exist?

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Lifestyle & Philosophy

Against the statement in the title of Giordano Bruno can be said, that everyone has his own truth, like Nietzsche suggests. To give an example of this: for me peanut butter is always brownish, but for someone who is color blind, it may look greenish. Then what is the real truth? Is the peanut butter brownish, because almost everyone sees it that way, or is it greenish, because one who is colorblind perceives it that way? Or is it both? Or maybe neither?

To be able to decide whether I agree or not with Giordano Bruno, I first have to know what ‘The Truth’ really is. Is the truth something our senses can show us, make us feel, taste, hear and smell? Because if this is the case, the truth is different for everyone, even if it is just the slightest bit. Our senses can never register the same all the time. Think about the focus of the lenses of the eyes that are different for so many people. For one person something can be perceived as closer, while the other might perceive it as further. Then what is the truth? To just go to a pole and wait until you hit the pole? So that when you it, it must be the real distance.

The moment you hit the pole, you would think that the pole is a piece of truth. Because you feel it and everyone sees it, color blind or not. But is this the case? Does Plato not mention that all which our senses register is only a reflection of the truth? This would mean that nothing that we see is the truth. And if not that all facts are based on what our senses register.

Somewhere there is a measuring rod of exactly one meter. But what is one meter exactly? Is one meter 100 cm because everyone says it is, and everyone assumes it is the truth? Or has there ever been someone, who decided what one meter should be? Why did that become a fact? Probably because most people believed it. Because everyone believes it, it becomes a standard. If one would not believe it, it would never have become a fact. By the way, all tests and experiments we do, we perceive by our senses. If we cannot trust our senses, then how should we ever know what the truth is? How should facts be determined?

Why do we actually have facts? I think it is for convenience. It is convenient to use a standard, acknowledge it and use it. Whether one meter is or is not 100 centimeters for everyone, it is accepted as the standard, because it is easy to measure things assuming that one meter is 100 centimeters.

Another example of ‘a truth’ which was not believed by the majority of people: many philosophers and scientists claimed centuries sago that the earth was round. Though this was not believed by anyone because all of them believed in something else, that is the earth was flat, as they had learned from the church. They saw the floor they walked on was flat, so it made sense the earth should be flat. This proved out to be wrong. Our senses had deceived us, by pretending to show the earth was flat, while this was not the case.

From the examples mentioned I conclude that the truth should not be based on what we perceive. What the truth actually is can probably not be determined by men. We assume the truth of others. We probably do this because it is easy. Maybe because we do not want to be different. We adopt a lot from others, like from teachers. We assume that others know better and work away our doubts with that reason.

We like to believe what others believe, without ever being certain that it is true. We like to believe our senses, because it creates a sense of security. We do not want to believe anything else, because it makes us uncertain and strange. We think: if everyone thinks it is that way, why should we think something else. One does not believe something for no reason right? There are so many people who believe the same, so it must be true.

My opinion is that the truth is something which you cannot grasp. We people do not know what the ‘truth’ really is, so we create our own truths.

I think the truth changes, when it is not believed by the majority of the people, and so I disagree with Giordano Bruno. When the majority of people believe in something, the rest will adjust to it and a new truth will be created. Perhaps that will continue to happen until we get to the real truth. We will probably not live long enough to find out, but we can always hope!

 

Bestaat Een Objectieve Waarheid?

 

Anicha

AnichaAnicha is 17 years old and always straight to the point. She lives life with a strong positive attitude and doesn't give up easily. By writing her blogs she would like to give positive thoughts to others. Besides that she wished to let people think about subjects like life and love.

"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam" (I will find a way, or make a way)
"Don't tell me that the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon"

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I have tried 99 times and have failed, but on the 100th time came success.

Ik heb 99 keer geprobeerd en gefaald, maar bij de 100ste keer kwam succes.

Albert Einstein