Truth is Subjective

Truth is Subjective

What do I believe? I believe in the goodness of humans, in the ability of individuals to better themselves. I believe that no matter how bad a situation is, it will always get better. I know this from experience-I’ve been through my own share of emotional pain, having been diagnosed with PTSD by two therapists- but a situation always improves. Eventually you realize that you won’t always be forced to obey another person; eventually you can choose to free yourself, just as Neo did in The Matrix. 

While oppressed, he was unable to see his lack of freedom-essentially a feed farm for robotic life- until a chaotic combination of experiences forced him to make a choice. He knew which choice to make based on intuition, one of the primary ways of knowing.There are many ways of knowing, including emotion,but often, emotion is tossed aside by our society as being “weak’; this is primarily the fault of a system that devalues vulnerability and places too high a value on thinking about a situation as emotionally  removed as possible. As Olivia mentioned in class, this type of knowing- being highly rational and not emotional at all- is akin to being a sociopath. 

There is no one way of knowing that is more reliable than all the others, just as there is no “one” truth that is greater than others. Of late, I’ve come to believe that the world isn’t just black and white, it’s made of shades of grey; there are multiple perspectives with which to view the world and just because one perspective is different than mine, doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. One resource that taught me this is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave-different perspectives are experienced, and nothing is as it really seems. Having less emotion doesn’t make what one knows more reliable- some might even say that it makes it less reliable. Having a lot of emotion- so long as it isn’t a negative emotion such as rage that overwhelms us- makes us more vulnerable, and by being more vulnerable, we open ourselves up to what others think and believe. Everyone possesses their own personal truth, and has opinions on many different topics, from politics, to human rights. However, these opinions are often tainted by confirmation bias- many of us apply our preconceptions about topics to new information we receive about them- a way of seeing the world through our own lense, even if it isn't objective or fair.

Truth isn’t as objective as academics may have us believe. Truth is multifaceted, it is multidimensional. Like a kaleidoscope, where we all see the same thing but each minute the slightest shift in movement alters our perspective. Who we are as individuals and our experiences  shape what we know to be true. I think that my personal truth- what I know about who I am and what I want- is a much more roundabout process than figuring out what my stance on a hot topic is.

The Factors that Shape our Truth

Truth can be revealed within media but the truth that is presented is a representation of someone else's truth. It is almost completely impossible to remove one's subjective view from anything let alone their writing because their diction and even syntax can convey their feeling towards a subject. The writer can both consciously and unconsciously omit data which will inevitably sway the readers' views on the matter. It is because of this that the whole truth can never be portrayed in the media unless one has an ample amount of time to research multiple articles about an event.
Truth can be witnessed through sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, but it can be thwarted by filters, distance, perception, *the absence of another sense, and one's past. For example, if one had their eyes closed and was given something that tastes like bacon, one would assume that they are eating bacon, but in reality they could actually be eating fried kelp. Taste can deceive a person. It does not always convey the truth of the situation; fallacies similar to this occur with each sense.
Truth can be framed by our environment such as our ideals, dreams, political views and other beliefs that were constructed by those surrounding us and our surroundings. The probability that someone will adopt the view one looks up to is very likely. If two people are brought up in the same environment it is likely that they will look at life analogously and therefore their truths will be very similar. On the other hand, if someone lives or lived in a different country, they will probably accumulate different perspectives of the topic of truth.
It is in our surroundings that we form biases that prevent us from accepting truths even when presented evidence that discredit our beliefs.  We will both intentionally and unintentionally filter the world around us. This narrow view, limits the amount of knowledge we have, and as a result we will never fully comprehend all the truth the world has to offer.
So what is truth? Truth is unique to every person. It is something that is changed and morphed depending on the following factors: media, senses, environments, and biases. Truth is one's intuition and one's undeniable perception on the matter at hand and because of the broad range of truths, many conflicts occurs such as the debate on Israel and Palestine. Everybody has a different truth that they live by because everyone is exposed to the world in a different way. Truth is simply the way one looks at the world around them, and it is different for each one of us.
Truth is what one believes something to be.
*according to Savanna Christy

Limited or Free?

What can be classified as truth? Is it concrete facts or one’s beliefs? Some people believe that truth is correlated with the facts they are given. Others may believe that their experiences in life and what they have observed, must lead to something being true. Stereotypes that are seen as most common can get translated into being true supported by supposed statistics. For example, in the hispanic culture physical characteristics are often matched with a certain race. So when people ask about those cultures, there’s always an answer like, “Oh yeah Guatemalans are all short with big noses”. Hispanic people will then laugh and agree but it’s not true. There are Guatemalans that do not fit that description, but because the majority may be seen with those same genetic characteristics it is then seen as truth. This is an easy way to believe something that has more to do with genetics than being a fact. I would personally say that I do not have a concrete truth. I am living by what has worked for me so far, but I can change my way of thinking at any point in my life. I am open-minded to all sorts of information, but at the same time I can’t help but question what I am given. I don’t believe we can ever know everything for sure and not wonder about it further. There isn’t a need for me to be absolutely certain of something because then I feel I would personally be less happy. As opposed to being closed off when I encounter an opinion or information that is in contrast to what I think, I take it in and am more happy because it opens more gateways for communication. I know that some facts are well supported and there is no questioning it. But for those that aren’t as well supported, I don’t necessarily believe I need to take it so seriously to the point where that is all the truth there is. In the future more could be discovered or added to it. I understand that for some people having a basis is important in having a bit more structure to their lives and building from there. In the larger scheme of things, the truth can sometimes limit you or free you. We can limit ourselves by choosing to accept the information we are given by scientists, adults, and doctors because they are our “superiors”. In some cases, some are well studied with their degree so automatically one can think “they must know because they’re the experts.” We stop questioning and wondering leading us to stay at a standstill. That is where we begin to limit ourselves and become more storage-like. An example of how the truth can set us free is when it comes to concerns of family heritage or biological parents. That is where one can question the most and wonder the “truth”. One can gain some valid answers that give internal release to all the restlessness within and in that aspect it can set one free. When we ourselves know that we are being honest with those around us, we are living more liberally. This is why truth is necessary because it affects us deeply. It can unconsciously affect the way we live and either give us peace or discontent. It can form a basis for people so that they can go on living their lives from there believing their own truths. Everyone’s truth will always be different but the purpose of it is to help us find our ways through life.

The Power of Truth

“Truth is something which can't be told in a few words. Those who simplify the universe only reduce the expansion of its meaning.” This quotation by Anais Nin shows how the human condition teaches us to always search for truth. People want to know everything so they know their own perceptions are valid, but often the quest for truth is too much for the individual. It is common to not be aware of the truth, but once our perceptions are proven wrong, it is important to look for the truth.

In the Allegory of the cave, none of the prisoners were aware of the world around them and that was okay for them. However once one of them was taken into the “real world” he felt the pain of truth but also the joy. He realized that he was living a limited life in the cave and that he loved being in the world and loved the truth. When he came back to bring the truth to his fellow prisoners, it was to much for them and they didn’t believe him. Because of their perceptions, they thought outside the cave would hurt them like it had hurt him. Their own opinions made them unwilling to follow the truth. Similarly, in the Matrix, everyone in the Matrix is seeing their own perceptions, but the greater truth still surrounds them all. When Neo searched for the truth, he found that the world he had known was only his perception and reality was greater than he could have ever known. Humans often try to find the truth to pin it down but the fact is truth is beyond our understanding and trying to understand everything is pointless.

I believe that there are universal truths and personal truths that exist together. Universal truths can be anything, but personal truths are based in emotions, experience and the nature around us. Truth is hard to define and that makes it harder to classify something as truth. Merriam Webster defines it as “a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality.” I agree with that definition but I also think that trying to contain what truth means and what it looks like is, is similar to trying to contain the universe. Humans have a desire to know the truth about everything, and it’s shown in popular culture like the movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but like the movie, no one person can know everything and it’s not our place to know either. In my opinion, humans don’t exist to know everything, they exist to move through life as positive members of the universe.

The quest for truth can be fruitful and beneficial to an individual and society. It can lead innovation and create meaningful experiences. However, truth isn’t a right, it’s a gift. Many people live without truth to those who are able to live surrounded by it, it can sometimes be a curse. In the Matrix, they said “the truth can set you free,” but sometimes the truth can take over someone’s life and cloud them from reality. Humans should search for the truth, but also remember that perfection doesn’t lie in truth.

Flexibility of Truth

Beliefs

There are many ways that you can define what truth is. There aren’t any limitation because what you believe will make you have different values and everyone has different ways to approach a situation. A quote said by Oscar Wilde, “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth”. People sometimes will be really careful about things that they said in front of people especially friends because expressing their real emotions towards friends and teachers are just too hard for someone. And if you have a mask, you won’t have to worry about people’s judgments towards you and you don’t have to afraid to be offensive towards a person because no one will know who’s talking.

To me truth is already out there but it depends on you whether you want to find out the truth or you want to live in your own world. For example, in the Allegory the Cave, people are seeing the shadows and hearing the sound that made by people that's outside of the cave. When one of the prisoners went out, he decided not to go back to the cave but some of them decided not to go out because they can't face the truth without a mask. The dark and isolated cave is their mask. Without the mask, they are afraid to face the truth. However, truth is the reality, the other prisoners think that going out to the real world is a way of facing the truth because inside if the cave there are nothing that they can do. But they have to be really brave to choose to go out to the real world because there will be many things that they have to face and to deal in the whole new world.

Another way to define truth is that instead of thinking of what is truth, first think about what is false. When you know what are wrong the truth will be in front of you. A quote from Galileo Galilei, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them”. In the movie Matrix, Neo is trying to find out the truth of the matrix. At first, he was wondering which pill will give him the truth of the world, and he thinks that going into the matrix and help Morpheus to save the world. And also when he’s in the matrix, he was trying to find out who is the one has the real power that can destroy the agents. When he is trying to search the truth of the one, at the same time he is also testing what is false, and finally finds the answer.

Furthermore, when lots of people believe in one fact, the fact will be known as the truth to a bigger group of people. People tends to follow people’s beliefs. A quote from Walt Whitman, “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth”. This is really true for me. I am a person who will believe in things that friends told me, or I will listen to my mind when I’m finding whether what the truth is. It’s really easy to find whether the things are true or false. It depends on how you think and what you believe.

Truth is really flexible. We don’t have to be afraid to express yourself. What you believe and what you think can become the truth in our life. 

Is There A Truth To Reality?

What is truth? What defines truth? Or does anything define it? Leo Tolstoy said, “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” Walt Whitman said, “Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.” Tolstoy and Whitman both had their own perceptions of truth, but what gives them that validity to say their truth is the real one. The truth that trumps all other truths, the one that defines the reality we live in, the one that people can depend on. Is there a way of knowing what universal truth is? The only way to understand real truth is to strip it down to its core principles, the truth of reality and the truth of society’s reality, and then maybe we can know some concept of what truth is.

Each person in this world has their perception of what reality is, and they believe that their reality is the truth. Each individual’s perspective of reality differs based on how they perceive things in the world. One physical element that people perceive differently is color. Looking out the window, you might see colors such as emerald green and burnt orange, while the person next to you might see turquoise green and peach orange. This is because of the effect that light has on our perception of color. Beau Lotto, a researcher who studies the effects light has on our perception of color, says, “The sky isn't actually colored at all (not blue or yellow or red or green). Rather, it's your mind that's colored. The world around us is physics devoid of meaning, whereas our perception of the world is meaning devoid of physics,” (Huffington Post). I like to think of our perception as a filter of reality. There is the universal reality that no one really knows, and then there is each individual’s reality, which is formed by looking at the universal reality through his or her personal filter. Each individual’s filter is based on the core elements of that particular person, what makes that person an individual and gives them their unique point of view. 

There is no technical way to understand the truth about universal reality, because reality can only be perceived through our personal filters, but that doesn’t mean people don’t try to understand the expansive idea of it. There are lots of people who try to have an objective view of reality and the truth, but there are also people who try to manipulate the naïve individuals who don’t have a clear understanding of the difference between personal reality and universal reality. These people use the media, as a manipulative tool to temporarily control what people think is universal reality. This includes news, social media, and entertainment, which people watch and use everyday. Before recently, people understood media as the truth, as a means of communication, but nowadays people understand the biased opinions that media portrays based on political points of views and specific audiences.

Even though the concept of reality is quite broad and unknowing, there are some ways in which we can recognize what reality is, but can we still define it? The way I see it is, how can one define truth of reality if our society is made up of people who define truth with their own opinions? If we use our society as the people to shape what is true or what is not, that is saying we are having mixed opinions dictate the truth, which will never result in a consensus. 

Infinite Mind

Infinite Mind 

  People perceive truth in different ways. Sometimes they are trapped in their own view of the world. What they think is true, is not always the truth. It only reflect part of the reality, or it is full of deceit and self-delusion. Yet some people look into themselves. They see the integrity of their mind and the infinite truth lies in themselves. 

   Most of the time, people choose to believe what they wish they’d believe — this makes their life a lot easier. They don’t need to think too much, analyze the information, or doubt themselves. They just get the information, agree with it, and that’s it. To go with the flow and obey to conformity is always the simplest. However, it is a completely self-delusion, that people almost have no idea of their unique self-identity and what is the real truth — things that they really want. 

   There are other times that the information source is controlled to make people receive false messages, or a certain viewpoint. For example, the history textbook in Germany and the United States may show different stories about World War II. In 1984, George Orwell also suggests that only the winner tells the truth. “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth”. To have an individual mind is the first step to the discovery of truth. 

   The real truth is not the fact either. The fact is something physical, something cold, something emotionless. But truth, quite the opposite, is a mixture of feelings, psychological fulfillment, self awareness, and courage. 

   Feelings are signals received by the brain in the first contact. People can fake their feelings, but they cannot change what they feel in that very moment. Feelings reveal people’s true opinion towards things. I can compliment a person I don’t like, but my heart won’t lie to me. I know exactly how I feel towards that person, I just choose to hide this feeling. 

   Psychological fulfillment is to be honest with your heart. If you cannot tell the truth to yourself, how are you able to distinguish what is true? Nevertheless, it is not easy to always be genuine even to yourself. When something bad happen, people tend to comfort themselves with lies. Their hearts are blinded by their false hope and their fears towards failure. Thus, people should have self-awareness to keep them out from self deceit. 

    Self-awareness is the idea of having an individual mind — To “Realize yourself” and to “wake up” in a world where everyone else are sleeping. Most people are distracted by the appearance of things, even their own appearances. They care too much about how others perceive them, but forget to look into themselves and develop their own mind. Mind is a beautiful place. Inside the finite mind their is infinity. People have the ability to create everything in their mind, including the truth. 

    The last one is courage — The courage to go against the current and reveal your true thoughts. “In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act”. The society loves conformity, and it will eliminate people who don’t. To have a different mind is a dangerous thing, but it is an indispensable factor that leads to truth. 

    Your truth is not the universal truth. It is not some sort of law that apply to every being in the world. But it is the law of your own mind; the law of your own behavior. In the pursuit of truth, you become yourself. And finally, you become the truth.