Defining truth. Meriam-Webster defines “truth” as all “real things, events, and facts”. If we seek truth, we’ll benefit from pursuing that definition further by defining its component terms. But thus far (spoiler alert), our definition has established that Santa flying around the world in his sleigh is not truth. Among its defining terms, “real” is the most complete synonym for “true”.
“Real” means “having objective independent existence”. Let’s define these component terms. “Objective” means “perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations”. Objective can also be defined as that which can be observed with one of our five senses. The most applicable definition of “independent” appears to be “not requiring or relying on something else”. The most applicable part of the definition of “existence” appears to be “having being especially independently of human consciousness”. If you’re walking down a darkened street you might become convinced someone is following you, even though your feeling of fear may be creating an “event” not observable with your senses and dependent solely on your mind for its existence.
If “real”, as described above, captures the essence of truth, then there is no such thing as “your truth” or “my truth”. Owned “truth” usually introduces personal feelings and interpretations and is therefore dependent on the individual. We communicate more clearly when we speak of “my opinion”, “your theory”, or “your belief”. Owning opinions, theories, and beliefs, and separating them from objective independent truth, is helpful to truth-seeking. We must be mindful of the fact that even commonly held beliefs, such as that bats are blind, have never been observed to be true.
Of course, two individuals may have access to differing, and even conflicting, evidence. This may trigger debate, with each side trying to prove the other wrong. In such situations, further scientific research often reveals that truth is more complex than such “winner take all” debates. Evidence may suggest there is partial truth in what each debater is saying. Another complication is that different people may find different things important. Here we enter the realm of values.
Truth and values. The founding fathers used “truth” in a different sense in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Clearly, they were not speaking of something that existed (that is, “truth” in Meriam-Webster’s sense). Slavery was a legal, widespread practice at that time. Many people who weren’t enslaved were born into the disadvantage of poverty and indentured servitude that greatly limited “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. Only white male landowners could vote. All were not created equal, but this was a value statement important toward creating “a more perfect Union” throughout the history of our country.
To exclude values (aka “beliefs”, “faith”, “inspiration”, “ideals”, “aspirations”, “priorities”) from a clear definition of truth is not to disrespect them, but to reveal their true nature. Values express the person, family, community, country, or world (or other important ideals) we wish to become and create, but that doesn’t currently fully exist. They indicate the purpose, meaning, or direction of our lives, not yet completely realized. Most of the power of values comes from seeking them. This includes identifying what our values are, but more importantly committing to and living them, creating and fulfilling what we value in the world. The essence of values is captured in such “owned values” (your values, my values) we personally identify, want, choose, commit to, and live. In contrast to truth-seeking, our emotions can be helpful with value-seeking. Strong feelings, whether joy, fear, sorrow, or anger, generally indicate a value is at stake.
As it turns out, truth-seeking is indispensable to value-seeking. The opinion or belief that we are becoming what we wish to become, and creating what we wish to create, rings hollow (and even hypocritical) without objective evidence observable by others. Also, feelings of value fulfilment can sometimes emerge from misperceptions or mistaken assumptions. A committed value-seeker will be on guard for this and attend to others’ feedback and reactions.