Truth

    Lately I've been really into learning about existentialism which is a philosophical movement that sprung up in France around the time of WWII, but has deep roots throughout the history of the subject of Philosophy. Its categorized by its focus on the human experience- the love, the pain, the sheer absurdity of it all- rather than treat such things as a detriment to rational thought. And, in particular, I've been intrigued by the whole concept of absurdity and what it meant to people at the time. The time before World War II was certainly no stranger to the absurdity of life, but it was nothing compared to what happened during the war. 

    To the people living in Europe at the time, it seemed like there was no rationale to what was happening. People seemingly lived and died by the random whim of the insane who were in power, so the absurdity because a sticking point in the thoughts of the countless living, not only in France but around the globe. 

    This got me wondering, with things as relatively peaceful (at the very least there are thankfully no World Wars in the last 80 years or so) as they are in the modern day and age, what would the great philosophical conundrum on our collective minds be? And then I had a discussion with my Mother about whether a video she had seen was in fact real or fake, I came to understand that, with all the "fake news" and artificial intelligence and flat out lies in our every day life, the question becomes "What, if any of this, is true?" 

    We all know what truth is, right? Its one of those obvious words that we struggle to define because its so simple that anyone who speaks the language can comprehend. So, for the sake of being on the same page, what is Truth defined as? The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy defines truth as "the quality of those propositions that accord with reality, specifying what is in fact the case". Simple, right? So why exactly is it so difficult to tell which political ad is telling the truth and which one is a convenient fabrication? 

    The big dilemma in philosophy is often the difference between Objective Truth vs Subjective Truth. Or Factual reality vs "It's true to me". Of course we can judge these things as "Everyone sees things this same way, therefore it must be this way", but of course this is also the old Mother's question of "If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?". Of course this is a silly idea, but does your subjective truth- the truth you know in your heart- have any more concrete meaning than countless videos and expert testimony?

    I think more than anything, we need to learn to understand the difference between our objective and subjective truths in everyday life and really understand that subjective truths hold as much weight as any opinion.