An Effective Way to Get to the Truth - Term Paper Example

The Ways of Knowing: The Path to Truth Mankind has a body of information that they rely on to make decisions and judgments, which people believe to be true. This information has come from centuries of legend, religion, science, and personal experience. How do we know if our knowledge or belief is true? The theory of knowledge contends that we gain truth through perception, emotion, reason, and language. These ways of knowing are applied to our areas of learning in mathematics, science, and the arts. The ultimate goal of knowing is to find the truth. Though we may fall short of absolute certainty, by evaluating our ways of knowing we can help to become more certain of our beliefs. The best path we take to truth will be determined by the knowledge that we have and the method that are available to verify it. Much of what is purported as absolute truth comes in the form of religion. The Reverend Samuel A. Trumbore states that, "…the most important value we all share is the importance of the mind in expressing our faith". A religious belief is typically held by being derived from the legend that is passed down by language. It is subjected to rudimentary logic that is designed to confirm it as truth and is further confirmed by deductive logic and emotion. Much of religion is based on ancient sacred texts that are subject to interpretation through literalism, objectivity, and subjectivity. Yet, there is no perception or experience to validate our beliefs on religion or the spiritual nature of life. It is based on language and emotion that has been fit into the framework of reason. Because few, if any, people ever have the firsthand experience of direct contact with a god it leaves the truth as suspect and the logic flawed. Emotion and language alone can not be assured of leading to the truth. To be considered a truth the reasoning must be valid and it requires some degree of perception. Is perception itself able to lead to truth? If perception is isolated and quarantined from emotion, reasoning, and language it offers little in the way of confirming what is perceived as true. A person may view two objects and perceive that they are of equal height. However, the senses may be deceived through an illusion or the failure to account for depth perception. The mind could reason that they are the same height if they are the same distance away. This could make the statement more true, but has invoked reasoning and qualification. Perception alone can not arrive at the truth. In addition, the knowledge gained through perception has no meaning without language. The meaning of the words equal and height need a clear definition for the mind to begin to establish any information or the confirmation that it is true. Much of the information we have about the world around us and the knowledge that we consider true comes from the area of science. The truths that science holds are generally built upon previously established information. Science uses these truths to theorize and hypothesize new information that can be tested. Experiments are designed to eliminate and define the effects of the numerous variables that influence the outcome. Scientific instruments can help eliminate the bias that may be due to an observers culture or language. Experimentation and scientific research often produces massive amounts of information that must be analyzed and interpreted before becoming of an value as truth. This requires deductive and inductive reasoning as well as objective and subjective judgment. Science may hold the belief that if we apply fire to a cup of water it will get hotter. We perform an experiment with instruments to measure the outcome and discover that the water does indeed get hotter. The scientist pronounces the results and proclaims it as a truth. Yet, the experimenter has also eliminated all other influences through reason and logic. The scientist assumes that there is no other possibility for the rapid change in temperature except the fire. Even the simplest truths of science are built upon language, perception, and reason. Science does not have a best way to obtain the truth, it needs a combination of methods to gain and validate what we know. What we know as truth has been contemplated by philosophers throughout the past centuries. These truths have often been sought through the use of reason without the impact of emotion. If a truth can not be validated when subjected to a rigorous logical argument then it is of no value. Our lives are based on the principles put forth by reason. Court trials, public debates, and the art of persuasion are designed to reach the truth. While reason is a necessary component of arriving at the truth, reason requires the input of information gathered through perception, language, and emotion. If a defendant is on trial the jury is asked to evaluate all the evidence and arrive at the truth. Because the jury is charged with arriving at the truth beyond all reasonable doubt there is little room for the influence of emotion. If the evidence is overwhelming, the jury can not acquit simply because they feel that the defendant is a likeable person. The truth requires the logical reasoning that has been advocated by our knowledge of philosophy. Reasoning is an effective way to get to the truth. However, reasoning also requires the support of the other ways of knowing. If an eyewitness places the defendant at the scene and is reported to have been seen committing the crime, the jurys reasoning would dictate a guilty verdict. The reasoning would be accurate, but the data may be flawed by faulty perceptions. The eyewitness may have been in error due to mistaken identity and the jurors may have an emotional bias in the unrealistic belief in the accuracy of eyewitness accounts. The jury would weigh their decision based on bad information. Reason alone, while effective in eliminating untruths, is of no value when used in isolation from the other ways of knowing. Emotions are at the core of knowledge and serve to highlight the value and credibility of the information that we believe to be true. These emotions may be our own internal feelings or they may be the feedback we get from the world around us. However, emotions are not absolute and are the product of culture and definition. Dovring argues that, "The strength of emotion cannot be compared from one individual to another" (24). Framing an act within a cultural framework can alter the emotional outcome of an encounter. The Western world may recoil from the subjugation of women practiced in some societies. The binding of womens feet in Asia has been denounced and is perceived as a selfish cruelty designed to make women more beautiful for the man. Yet, only a few centuries ago it was widely accepted and the man did experience pleasure from the act. Time and culture alters the emotions felt in regards to the practice. Emotion can lead us to truth, but set apart from reason it can be unreliable. If the truth is alterable by culture, time, or place, it is a temporary belief but it is not truth. Language is the way that we maintain and perpetuate our knowledge. To be of any value in regards to the truth it needs to be precise and agreed upon by all the participants in the activity. Descartes put forth the notion that knowledge is "…more than mere sensation: it requires judgment, which is exercised in mental affirmations to the effect (in simple cases) that something is such-and-such" (Aune, 117). A person may say that they know where the car keys are. All listeners can agree upon the definition of car keys, but may have a different interpretation of the word know. The definition will influence the degree of belief we may have in the truth of where the keys are located. We may infer that the speaker once knew where the keys are or we may interpret it to mean that they think they know. Even in this simple example language needs to be clearly and explicitly defined and agreed upon. This is an unrealistic expectation. Politicians routinely exploit this characteristic of language when they speak what is the truth while parsing out the meaning. A candidate may say that they have always supported gun control, yet have voted against appropriate legislation. They explain that supporting and voting are two distinct acts. Language becomes muddled and imprecise. Language alone can not lead us to truth without the additional influence of perception and reason. In conclusion, there is no best path to truth. Truth has many aspects from the rigid observations of a scientific experiment to the emotionally charged argument of a defense attorney. Perception is a path that we use in our daily experience as we believe what we see, hear, or sense is real. However, it is subject to illusion and tainted by previously held beliefs that frame the perception. Reason can help us temper our perceptions and eliminate what is false, but can not operate without the information gained on the other paths. Emotions can be truthful when they are on the instinctual level, but are subject to being altered by culture and time. Language is the central component of our gathering and maintaining truth, but can not stand apart from reason and perception. There is no best way of knowing a truth. Truth is reached by the careful evaluation of the information we gain by following all the paths to knowledge. Works Cited Aune, Bruce A. Knowledge of the External World . Florence, KY: Routledge, 1991. Dovring , Folke. Knowledge & Ignorance : Essays on Lights & Shadow. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. Trumbore, Samuel A. "Four Ways of Knowing." . 12 Oct. 1997. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church. 6 Feb. 2008 . Read More