OPINIONS, TRUTH, RELATIVISM, PERCEPTION, REALITY, AND HOW THEY AFFECT OUR INTERACTION
How can we even begin to determine things like truth?
In this life, each of us has a certain freedom. We can choose what to do, what to believe, and how to live. Making a certain choice does not make that choice the correct choice, but right or wrong, we have the freedom to choose as we wish.
In any situation, every individual has the opportunity to make a choice. Whether it is about what we believe, what we say, what we think, or what we do, those choices are ultimately left up to us alone. Others may try to influence us, or even force us to do things their way, but this does not negate our individual freedom to choose whether to do so or not.
OPINIONS
When evaluating any given situation, we all have the freedom to form our own opinions. Two individuals may indeed draw the opposite conclusions when supplied with the same scenario or evidence and therefore arrive at two contrary opinions. This has happened time and time again over the course of history and certainly will continue to.
Ultimately, we all must draw our own conclusions and form our own opinions, even if we just choose to adopt the opinion of another.
TRUTH
Despite whatever opinions we form, they do not and cannot change the truth. If, in my opinion, 2 + 2 = 3, the truth has not changed. I simply have chosen to believe in something that is not true. Though some beliefs may relate to preferences and therefore be able to validly exist at the same time although they may be in opposition to one another, such is not the case when it comes to truth.
When any of us evaluate certain evidence to draw a conclusion and attempt to determine what is true, there is a margin of error that can occur. We may interpret the evidence inaccurately or simply be unaware of additional information that would have helped us to evaluate the evidence more accurately.
Whether we form an inaccurate opinion about something or evaluate the evidence in a faulty manner, our actions have not changed what is true. We will have just arrived at an inaccurate conclusion and therefore, to us, the truth would look like a lie.
PERCEPTION
Though the actual truth cannot be changed based upon our beliefs or opinions, since we perceive something other than what is actual true to be true, from our point of view the actual truth is eclipsed by something else. If we are unable or unwilling to at least entertain the idea that our own conclusion or opinion may be inaccurate, then we will not be able to determine what is actually true.
In order to reach the truth of a certain matter, we must be willing to doubt what we believe and realize that what we perceive as reality or truth. For those who are unwilling to do so, their false perception will blind them from the truth.
RELATIVISM
At this point, a certain level of relativism does exist. It does not mean that “what is true for you is true for you” and “what is true for me is true for me” but rather that you have chosen to believe that something is true and I have chosen to believe that something else is true. The truth did not change and has certainly not transformed to the point that contrary opinions can both be valid, only our perception of what we believe to be true.
From this setting then many with fight tooth and nail against one another because they have both formed contradictory opinions based upon what they perceive to be true. In a non-preference situation, when contradictory opinions arise, at least one of those opinions is guaranteed to be inaccurate, and perhaps both of them are.
My false opinions of the truth based upon my flawed perception gives me a wrong conclusion relative to me. The truth has not changed, it is simply that I have chosen not to believe it, and to believe something else instead.
REALITY
In our lives then, this has become reality. Different people with different opinions of what is true based upon their perception have arrived at conclusions relative to themselves. When two people who believe in different things are willing to entertain the idea that at least one of their conclusions may be false, then they stand a chance at arriving at the truth.
However, far more often, people of varying beliefs are unwilling to budge on what they believe to be true. In these situations, at least one of them will continue to believe something other than what is actually true, and perhaps even both of them will.
This is the reality in which we currently find ourselves. Many variations on what may be true exist, and when they contradict one another, they cannot both be valid. If we are willing to believe what we believe no matter what, then there is no room for growth or deeper understanding, much less an actual arrival at the real truth.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to overcome is realizing that we have the freedom to reject the truth regardless of what evidence is presented to us. If “A” is true but I prefer to believe “B” instead, there is no amount of anything that can overcome my freedom to choose “B” over “A.”
Though my belief cannot change the truth, the truth does not have to change my belief!
OUR INTERACTION
When we exist in such a reality, full of various people all claiming that contradictory things are true, it is sure to influence our interaction. Pride and arrogance can be horrible traits to display when interacting with others, but far too often, this is exactly what we see. We must be careful to remember that others interact from the position of what they believe to be true, just like we do.
When we are willing to at least admit that what we believe may be inaccurate, we will be more likely to treat contrary beliefs from another person as if they could be valid. At this point, we can “test” the beliefs of another to see if they could be true. Though our information will always be limited, we should at least be able to make some kind of determination based upon what information and evidence we have at the time. Once we have reached some sort of conclusion, we can move forward from there.
If what we believe seems more valid than what another believes, then we can form the opinion based upon our perception that what we believe is true, or at least that it has a greater potential to be true. If what they belief appears more valid, then perhaps our original conclusion was inaccurate. Believing that something has a greater potential to be valid than something else does not make it true, but it does allow one to lean more towards that conclusion.
Many times in life, we have already “tested” and “tried” a lot of various beliefs or concepts to have arrived at what we believe is true. To allow for the greatest potential of validity in our beliefs and opinions, we should never be willing to stop considering that there may be more to the matter than we realize so far. Still, a certain confidence in our current understanding is necessary to proceed with living our life and making the daily choices that are needed to continue with our lives.
In my life, there have been a few things that I now believe with all my heart. So far as I know, they are completely true. Still, when I share such things, if I do so in a proud or arrogant manner, what I share has a greater probability of being rejected. If I humbly and gently share what I believe to be true though, there is a greater opportunity to share it with others as I interact.
Even if what I currently believe turns out to be 100% accurate, I must keep in mind that I was not always aware that it is true. Once, I held many beliefs completely contrary to what I now believe. This, of course, does not mean that “that was true for me then and this is true for me now.” Truth, though not always easy to come by, is more solid than that. It doesn’t bend of change based upon my warped sense of reality, emotions, or beliefs.
Anyway, I’m not sure why I wrote this and it is not in direct response to anything in particular. These were just some deep thoughts running through my mind that I felt like sharing. As I interact, I’ll try to be genuine and respectful, and do the things that will help you as you continue with your life, rather than trying to tear you down.
FOLLOW
Interesting read.
One parson´s reality is another person´s fiction and never the twain shall meet.
Indeed, we all have the right to believe what is true for us and this truth is based upon our individual life experiences. No matter what we read or are told, our own life experience will dominate our view of what is true.
For example.
How someone possibly know what it was like to be a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp unless they experienced it. We can sympathize and try to imagine, but we can never know.
And then someone like David Irving comes along and says that the whole thing is a lie. The holocaust survivors are outraged. Now I personally have no doubt whatsoever it is true. But what I did not know, until I watched the documentary of the famous Irvine case in London, is that the reality is that there is actually no solid evidence at all that proves the holocaust really happened.
Yes we have footage of the survivor of camps after the war but there is no evidence whatsoever of the actual putting of people into the gas chambers.
That is a fact. Therefore our belief of the holocaust is based entirely on witness survivor testimony.
And yet we all know that it really happened. So in this case we all choose to believe over what the evidence shows.
And why is that?
Why because something deep down in our gut, our instincts tell us that it is true. Personally I believe that human beings were built to tell and detect the truth. I mean how many times have we heard someone tell a story and a voice inside us whispers that what we hare hearing is a lie:
Did anyone believe Clinton when he swore he "did not have sexual relations with that woman".
The idea of keeping an open mind and that our perception/belief might be wrong is in one way a healthy position. And on the whole I agree with that.
At leas it is not a fundamental stand point which is perhaps more dangerous society wise.
But if we all had that stand point then there is also a danger that it becomes a game of who can convince the other that their truth is a better truth.
In WW2 the Japanese totally believed that they would win the war.
That is until atomic bombs obliterated two of their cities.
Thus we have to find a way to solve this problem otherwise there will come a time when all of us will have to accept the undeniable truth that atomic bombs are falling down upon us from China/Russia/Iran or where ever or whoever decides to press the button because our view of the truth is vastly different than theirs.
"Whoever believes that they have the answer to life will inevitably be lead them into doing terrible things in the absolute belief that they are doing the right thing" Irving Berlin
Very interesting points that you have shared there!
You assume there is a truth, even a solid one. I'm not so sure.
In physics, many "truths" are unknowable, all we have is models of reality. Discussing the unknowable it the terrain of metaphysics, a nice passtime, but opinions only. Assuming there is a truth when it is unknowable is not very useful; it could even be changing all the time, for all we know.
In morality, there are only opinions. You choose one that suits you and take it from there, what else can you do? Truth doesn't enter into it, nor does it have to.
You can only demonstrate that something is not true, you can't prove that something is always true.
Beware of those who claim to know the truth, and who never doubt. The more modest among us pick models and morality to be able to get through everyday life, without assuming to have found the final answer to life, the universe and everything. Modesty is key.
Far too many proclaim their speculations as absolute truth, which is not beneficial. Still, I do believe in absolute truth, and that by a narrowing down of logical possibilities, we can arrive at an understanding of it. The more that we tested its validity over time when we are faced with other options, the more likely we have concluded accurately, or at least that's how I see it. Thanks for sharing @ocrdu.
Beware of those who make you doubt and claim you can never know truth. (they never speak the truth because they claim it to be true that you can never know the truth- edited this sentence to provide more clarity.)
Those are the ones who implicitly tell you; I now for certain you can never know anything so you better listen to me. I believe they are worse than the ones saying This is the truth. The people who are saying this is the truth are mostly not making you doubt yourself in a way than the ones saying; You can never trust yourself in knowing anything even yourself. (cult(ure)s, guru's, politicians,priests, parents)
If we want to increase wellbeing in the world, we should all work to improve our epistemology which are the mechanisms we use to understand what is real knowledge and what is not. While someone can hold an opinion in conflict with reality, historically that opinion leads to actions which harm others and decrease wellbeing. To the extent false ideas about reality harm others, what responsibility do we all have to correct falsehoods? This relates to trust as well. If someone consciously chooses to hold an opinion which is contrary to reality, can they be trusted in other areas of life?
I have my bias that truth (on a long enough timescale) increases wellbeing because it enables rational thought which helps us make decisions about the physical world to increase wellbeing. I want to learn and spread truth for that reason. That necessitates exposing falsehood. To do so in a loving, humble, open-minded manner is key, especially because new information could provide a clearer understanding of truth than currently known.
Good thoughts, Pappa. Keep thinking on these things. :)
That humble, loving manner is key, even when we are wrong.
Thanks @lukestokes!
If we are unable or unwilling to at least entertain the idea that our own conclusion or opinion may be inaccurate, then we will not be able to determine what is actually true.
In order to reach the truth of a certain matter, we must be willing to doubt what we believe and realize that what we perceive as reality or truth. For those who are unwilling to do so, their false perception will blind them from the truth.
I agree with this statement wholeheartedly...but I come from a place now where I wouldn't claim something to be true if I had no way of proving it. I don't believe I can know with absolute certainty things that I either have never experienced, or don't remember experiencing. Such as what happens after we die for example. In fact I can say that exactly what you have written there was one of the first thoughts I ever had in a journey away from certain ideologies.
I was taught since I had language that the faith my parents had was absolute truth, that questioning or doubting it as such was dangerous, and a failure on my part. Even though their faith was not something that could be proven, only believed in.
2+2=4 is something that can be proven. That's what makes it true. I do have to ask how something can be claimed as an undeniable truth if it cannot be proven in the same manner.
Respectfully,
@dreemit
Very well said. I would even go a step further and say that we can't be absolutely certain that 2+2 = 4.
We understand 2 to mean two because we were taught so. But, how do we know the initial meaning of the symbol 2 did not actually mean three. We know what we are taught, but what we are taught is not necessarily truth. How do we even know that the initial definition of the word "two" is what we believe it to be.
We have agreed, through consensus that the definition is what we think it is. But, does a consensus guarantee truth? No. It doesn't.
Only the inventor of the symbols "2," "+," "=" and "4" truly knows whether 2 + 2 = 4 is truth.
I am not saying that I don't think 2+2=4. I'm 99.99999999999999999% it does. But the point I am attempting to make, is that objective truth is a lot harder to come by than most claim. There is always room for error, and accepting that will bring us closer to the truth.
There are a lot of people in this world who will tell you this is this and that is that, and they will speak of how they are 100% certain of this. In my experience, these are the worst people to treat as a source of information, because they are slaves to their confirmation bias and unwilling to attempt to perceive anything in a way that contradicts their current paradigm.
This does not make them a bad person. It does not mean their heart is in the wrong place. It just means, in my opinion, that they are not very comfortable with the not knowing aspect of life.. Which is more than understandable.
The thought did occur to me to include "If the symbols mean what we were taught they mean, that 2 is in fact a representation of...here I would need some beads haha, so I'll just say something that can be quantified and measured" But, I'm glad you did it for me instead :)
Yes, there are a lot of people in this world who live in absolutes, and I agree with your assessment of them. I certainly do not think they are bad people, and I truly comprehend being uncomfortable, even afraid of the not knowing aspect of life, as I was once one of them. When you have walked miles in certain shoes, it's easier to empathize.
With faith? ;_-)___o
Ha! :) Actually, papa-pepper is a wonderful guy, and a great asset to the steemit community. But the reason for my comment stems from prior conversation, as he is, an evangelical Christian, or a born-again Christian. I only mention this because of your comment below, the answer to that would be No, lol, they have very different definitions of truth.
In regards to my Christian faith, when I observe the accuracy to which past events were foretold before their time, and with which it records the things that we can test, observe, and understand from the physical, then I logically conclude that there is a strong possibility that the eternal and spiritual information is also accurate. Though I cannot scientifically proven life after death, I have very strong evidence for it.
flagging problem on steemit.
Is that a truth or an opinion?
Opinions vary. Many have been used wisely, and others not so much.
Is there a solution?
don't give people with this mentality power to abuse maybe?
https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/683778713044656131
It is true that a problem exists. This problem may be an inherent flaw in the Steemit code, a flaw in the understanding of human nature, or something that can be addressed. Time will tell.
https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/683778713044656131
the problem is the mentality of some of the whales.
That certainly seems to be the case. In any case we should try to be as transparent and courteous as possible to avoid full confrontation, even if we disagree on varying topics. I strongly believe that if someone is being unfairly judged, he or she should have an opportunity to express and clarify their statements if only to redeem theirselves from the purgatory of obscurity that seems to plague those with non-conformatory ideas and/or opinions on steem.
I dont personally think flagging should be used at all, unless there a clear danger that someone might get hurt by themselves or someone else directly following or adhering to the words written.
All in all it is a dangerous game, silencing someone's expressions entirely based only on disagreement.
https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/683778713044656131
the problem is the mentality of a couple whales. giving people with the mentality in that post is the problem.
Well it's quite obviously an opinion, because those who are handing out the flags clearly do not see it as a problem.
yeah they don't see killing their own site is a problem.
https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/683778713044656131
Thanks @papa-pepper! How you come up with so many quality posts is a marvel!
Don't head I to my blog history... It may not have a bottom anymore!
Hi, @papa-pepper, would you mind if I translate this article into spanish ?
Go for it! Full permission granted.
Here's the translation.
https://steemit.com/spanish/@josuepalacios/opiniones-verdad-relativismo-realidad-y-estos-afectan-nuestra-interaccion
When I left school many years ago one of the better teachers said 'Find out Who, What, Where, Why, and you will find the truth'.
In my opinion, truth is relative and my perception of reality is different from others and this is a true fact.
Not trying to be a cunt here, but there is a serious problem with this sentence.
How can truth be relative, and that be a true fact?
If truth is relative, there is no such thing as a true fact-- only your true fact.
Ok, let's take this for example: If I tell you that God exist and I believe so much in Him, that's true from my perspective, but if you don't believe in Him, well that's also true, but my truth and your truth is not the same! Make sense? So, in the end, the truth depends on what a person believe. So is relative, because we can't agree with everything we believe.
You needn't explain the concept to me. I understand, and I believe we all have our own truths. I was just pointing out the contradiction in your sentence so that you might have the opportunity to amend it in future use.
Ok, glad that you understand me! Thank you!
I was just thinking of you, and came here to say hi and see what you were up to, you have been on my mind the last half hour. I guess I know why now.
Have a good nite friend.
Hello my friend. Are you doing well?
No man. Not really. You know the things I am dealing with, deadlines, the issues and bills and whatnot.
Thanks for your honesty Brother. We will be praying for you.
I know you will be and I am thankful.