When is Truth True?
Knowledge and truth are the basis of our society, however when it is truth? Knowledge is anything that an individual is acquainted with, but it does not necessarily mean it is true. It can be true to the individual, but that is all. For example, the tale of Santa Claus is extremely misleading. It is truth to the five year old, but a ten year old will know that Santa does not exist. There is no absolute truth, given that knowledge is based on self-reference.
In the documentary film, The Ascent of Man, episode #11, "Knowledge and Certainty", Jacob Bronowski states, "there is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is imperfect. We have to treat it with humility. That is the human condition, and that is what quantum physics says." I agree with this statement because there can never be a supreme certainty. Truth is a personal belief. People choose whether or not to accept the statement as their own. It can be proved, but someone will always doubt it, and a new idea will inevitably contradict an old certainty. An example of the change concerns the idea of heliocentricity. The theory, which places the Earth in orbit around the sun, was developed by Nicholas Copernicus, in the early 16th century, and defended by Galileo Galilei. However, to the Church this was untrue, and Galileo’s arguments supporting heliocentricity resulted in them placing charges of heresy against him. But today it is proven that the Earth in orbit, indeed does circle around the sun. It is a continuous cycle, to prove and disprove truths.
There is no real truth, but truth is relative to every situation. For example, in elementary school as soon as the teacher leaves the room something usually breaks or a commotion occurs. When the teacher comes back to the classroom and asks what happened, she is given a different story from every student. This is due to the individuals’ truth. What they saw is what they know and is true to them. This is similar in a car accident. Ask five witnesses what happened, and five different stories will be told, depending upon their point of view of the collision. There is no real truth, since everyone perceives reality differently.
Truth is also based on knowledge, in that if someone has never experienced or been acquainted with an idea, how do they know it exists? They do not know, but they do have the option whether to accept or reject the notion. If they accept it, it will become then become a truth.
Chapter five of The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination by Bronowski discusses the difference of knowledge between humans and machines. Machines are not programmed to understand new concepts; whatever has been programmed into its memory is all it understands. On the contrary, the human mind is apt to comprehend and develop new ideas. This is due to self-reference. "Now self-reference, like self-consciousness, is in fact the glory of the human mind" (Bronowski 98). The human mind can understand due to consciousness and the ability to think, unlike machines that are programmed to have an input and a certain output.
"In the act of recognition, a judgment is built in– an area of tolerance or uncertainty
…No events, not even atomic events, can be described with certainty, with zero tolerance." (Heisenberg "Knowledge or certainty") Heisenberg explains how nothing is certain. What is true, and who had that right to declare truth? Our knowledge is merely confined by a tolerance. An example of this is how science progresses step by step. The main idea is never established at once, however the little notions explaining and proving the final concept are found. All knowledge, all information can only be exchanged in a play of tolerance.Knowledge and truth are absolutely characteristic to the individual. A moral belief exists and there is a code of truth and knowledge, however, both are skewed. Both are dependent upon self-beliefs, morals, truths, and self-reference. There is no absolute truth due to all the varying, contradictory beliefs of each person. Even if there is proof, many people still question it. For example in mathematics, proving the answer is the basis of math, however new means and formulas of calculating the answer are being found, due to these questioning individuals. However, the questioning is beneficial. New methods are being invented to answer and prove old ideas in a "new light". This extra understanding explains the belief, and more people understand it and acquire it as truth. When is truth true? Truth is certainty by the means of self-reference.
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