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sobriqueWhat is the truth?
Never an easy question to answer.
Dictionary.com say "truth" is:
Conformity to fact or actuality.
A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
Sincerity; integrity.
Fidelity to an original or standard.
Conformity to a fact. Well, if it's a fact that I think I'm the most fantastic person on this planet, does that make it the truth?
Or is it only if it's accepted to be true that it becomes so?
It's hard to ever develop and objective 'truth' there's always shades of meaning and interpretation in anything other than a trivial fact. It's easy enough to say that my computer reports the time is 15:34. It's a little harder to say that that is the correct time. (Especially given what time you may read this post at).
Sometimes an untruth is told to save feelings.
Sometimes a story is told for entertainment, and whether it's true or not is largely irrelevant.
Sometimes truth hurts.
Sometimes it's meaningless.
Facts, when filtered by opinion and perceptions are what make up the 'truths' as we see them.
Truth and lie are not so relevant as our reasons behind them.
All that's important is kindness or malice in saying a thing.
Neither truth nor lie is good when spoken hurtfully.
Neither truth nor lie is bad when spoken with kindness.
Never an easy question to answer.
Dictionary.com say "truth" is:
Conformity to fact or actuality.
A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
Sincerity; integrity.
Fidelity to an original or standard.
Conformity to a fact. Well, if it's a fact that I think I'm the most fantastic person on this planet, does that make it the truth?
Or is it only if it's accepted to be true that it becomes so?
It's hard to ever develop and objective 'truth' there's always shades of meaning and interpretation in anything other than a trivial fact. It's easy enough to say that my computer reports the time is 15:34. It's a little harder to say that that is the correct time. (Especially given what time you may read this post at).
Sometimes an untruth is told to save feelings.
Sometimes a story is told for entertainment, and whether it's true or not is largely irrelevant.
Sometimes truth hurts.
Sometimes it's meaningless.
Facts, when filtered by opinion and perceptions are what make up the 'truths' as we see them.
Truth and lie are not so relevant as our reasons behind them.
All that's important is kindness or malice in saying a thing.
Neither truth nor lie is good when spoken hurtfully.
Neither truth nor lie is bad when spoken with kindness.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 01:37 pm (UTC)Neither truth nor lie is bad when spoken with kindness.
I disagree completely if we are viewing good objectively. Webster's has a definition "something conforming to the moral order of the universe". In this measure good cannot be disputed, IMO it is the will of god and not open to debate. BUT... as human beings our every action and thought are subjective so reacting to this 'absolute' notion becomes very difficult. Yet is this absolute truth that is the focus of existence, someone call it religion others physics.
Neither truth nor lie is good when spoken hurtfully.
Neither truth nor lie is bad when spoken with kindness.
I'm sure there are many drama stories and soap operas that rely on the above being open to doubt, e.g. Evil bad person tells young innocent the hamster known as Flynn is dead, believing it will hurt. Young innocent is relieved as he had tired of the hamster OR Young innocent goes out and buys fun new pet OR Young innocent takes Evil bad person to the woods to be sacrificed to Shub Niggurath, the black goat of the woods with a thousand young.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-18 03:24 pm (UTC)This is where I disagree - I don't think we can ever have an objective measure of 'good' - it's always subject.
I'm not convinced there are absolute quantities in all but the most trivial situations. But that's a subject for another LJ rant...
(hmm, something for tomorrow I think...)