So I recently had a long car ride with a person who had some strong views on absolute truth. I am of the opinion that absolute truth needs an arbitrator or some mechanism for consensus for a truth to be an absolute for a group of people.
They kept saying that the lack of absolute truth is the problem with modern society. That god is the only arbiter of absolute truth, and I couldnt get an answer on how we mortals are able to divine such things.
It was real frustrating when they wouldn’t agree that the as a society, we give the justice system the ability to arbitrate truth.
When I told them that I dont think absolute truths exists he told me that was an absolute truth I believed
I have seen a lot of people who claim that an absolute truth exists and I have seen that thought process color their interactions in society. I think this belief system is a cancer on society and that religions are cultivating it.
I think the idea of an absolute truth being able to be uncovered is quite comforting to these people, and for people who do t consider themselves to be religious these religious ideas persist into their life.
Anyway, just thought I would share.
I always strive to see the nuiance in people, believe as little as possible, change my opinions on matters when appropriate, see absolute truth as a mechanism for arbiters to control.
Thoughts?
When I told them that I dont think absolute truths exists he told me that was an absolute truth I believed
Then he wasn’t listening to you. “I don’t think” is not the same as “I am certain.”
This sounds to me like an example of locking into a solution, then mistaking it for the problem. I think societies are broken in which there is deep disagreement about how to decide what’s true. Recognizing some kind of absolute truth is merely one way to agree on how to decide what’s true.
Moreover, I expect that a person claiming that absolute truth exists means something more like there is only one reliable source of truth or way to decide truth. Some choose reason and some choose their preferred god.
It is natural for humans to want simplicity and absolute truth seems simple. Humans have evolved not to waste energy on deciding what’s true. What an advantage it would be to live as though truth were absolute!
Yeah maybe the problem is consensus. Some believe one others a different one.
Absolute truth may ir may not exist, but humans and all our interpretations are subjective.
… and if God wanted us to know an absolute Truth that would violate our free will, it might also make someone go crazy. Which is the internal reasoning for why faith is required for most religions (externally/critically it’s because non of them make coherent sense).
Slap a “for me” any statement becomes subjective, even your “I don’t believe in absolute truth exists”.
…and what’s more, to go one step further, I don’t think the belief in an absolute truth is as comforting as we pretend it must be. He sounds very uncomfortable to the point it’s bothering him, and interrupting his daily interactions with others.
Sounds like a mental health issue to me… And like many mental health issues, I think it comes as a way to avoid and protect ones self from trauma. In this case the truama of living in an ambiguous world, where there’s not a simple set of answers available.
Religion holds people back, keeps them attached to an easy set of inauthentic beliefs that operate on false ideas of the world… And that’s my subjective viewpoint argued with reason, which for almost all intents and purposes is qualitatively better than operating on faith.
