Does Objective Truth Exist?
on Aug 26 in Uncategorized by adminToday I was speaking with a young man who roughly said to me, “Well, ultimately all truth dissolves into subjective truth anyway.”
I have thought about the nature of truth for years, and before he spoke I was pretty sure that truth was comprised of both subjective and objective facts. However, the confidence with which he spoke has caused me to decide to test once again the conclusions I have reached. Throughout the course of human existence that which seemed undistilled fact to one generation was later proved to be nothing more than a popular misconception, therefore the reexamination of one’s core philosophies is never a waste.
Defining Terms
Discourses about the nature of truth I think should first begin with a clear description of the terms being used. Therefore, below is placed a succinct description of the key words.
Truth – Truth is a word used to describe concepts that accurately reflect – as far as any human utterance or formulation can – the manner in which reality and its parts are constructed and behave.
Subjective – This word is used to describe concepts, states of mind, and experiences that occur in the individual – in the subject – but not necessarily in others or the reality wherein the subject lives. Thus, when a fact is a subjective truth it is a truth that accurately reflects only what is true for me.
What constitutes tasty food, the food one eats, and the ways in which people prepare food are all very good examples of the subjective. Spanish food, Indian food, Chinese food, and Mediterranean food are all very different but equally valid styles of cooking. There is no cosmic ruler somewhere that provides a flawless standard whereby to prove anyone of these better than another, and such is the case for all subjective things.
Objective – This word is used to describe things that exist independently of an individual’s ideas or perceptions of them and which are therefore the same for all. Thus, when a fact is an objective truth it is a truth that accurately reflects what is true for me, you, and the rest of all creation.
Considering the Question
With this brief clarification of terms before us let us then consider the question at hand, “Do objective truths exist?”
In order to answer this question all we must ask another, “Are there any facts humanity has discovered about reality that are true for all people?” When phrased in this manner one quickly realizes that the answer is a resounding yes.
The first thing that comes to mind is the force of gravity. Gravity acts upon all parts of the known universe, and the fact that everything on the earth isn’t floating around as though it were on the moon shows that it is an objective force – that is it affects all of us regardless of what we believe about it or how we sense it. It just isn’t possible for gravity to be a subjective energy, for no matter how much any one of us may disbelieve in it they are still pulled tight against the earth’s crust due to its effects.
Another example of an objective truth is the fact fire burns. When a Frenchman strikes a match atop the Eiffel Tower it ignites in the same manner as a match that is struck atop the Empire State building by an American. Now, I am sure someone will raise the objection that at extreme high or low altitudes the fire will behave differently, however this is not due to the beliefs about fire held by the individual striking the match. Rather, such differences have to do with the way fire behaves on our planet.
Still another example is the nature and behavior of the energetic particles called atoms. Atoms behave the same in Antarctica as they do in Japan and the rest of the world. If such were not the case the economic and technological connections of our global community would fail. Apples grown in Japan could become pudding upon entering the Western Hemisphere, a picture sent to Greenland from Jerusalem via the internet could become a flash of light or some incoherent electron burp, and people themselves would become whole new things simply by traveling from Rome to the Himalayas
One could go on and on, but such would only be a waste of breath. All of one’s air can be saved by simply pointing to the last two-hundred years of scientific research. Through careful investigation of our world and the universe in which it is contained, many wonderful minds have discovered countless objective truths.
Going Deeper
The above provides examples of a certain type of nature to establish objective truth, but I wish to examine it in another way in order to further buttress the tenet.
Anything that exists must have a place to exist in. If there were no space or time anywhere in all of reality, there would be nowhere for anything to be. Not only this but anything that exists does so due to a particular set of causes and conditions.
Archimedes, a Greek mathematician, once said that if he had a level and fulcrum big enough he could move the world, thus giving rise to the concept of an ‘Archimedean point’. Such a point is one single unmovable point from which one can move with certitude and power toward their goal. My goal is to understand reality as it is, and my Archimedean point is the fact of my existence.
If nothing else in all of reality is certain the fact that we exist is. One can play fun little mind games and question if we are dreaming, if we’re in a giant computer simulation, or if we are all simply beings living in the dreams of a sleeping god or goddess, but regardless of where we may exist the fact that we exist is undeniable.
Since I exist, there must be some place in which my existence is occurring. Looking around I discover that indeed I live on a rock at just the right distance from a source of heat and light which powers most living things that share the rock with me. What’s more, is that by searching I can easily discover that the rock upon which I live – as well as the universe in which the rock is situated – existed for a very long time before I was born. Countless generations of people surround me, layers of cities are piled upon one another where the same spot has been razed and rebuilt countless times by various armies and destroyers, and the wear and tear displayed by earth’s terrain compared to the rate at which the forces which shape it move show me they have been operating for a long time.
It may seem odd, but I must at least consider the possibility that all of existence appeared instantly at the same time I did and that all signs of wear are figments of my own imagination. However, after I study how things like me are made, live, and die it becomes obvious that I am not the cause of myself and that I cannot perpetuate my existence merely by willing to so. Thus, since I did not create myself I was created by other existent elements, and since existence elements need a place to be there was obviously a place which preceded us both.
Not only this but I observe the birth of thousands and thousands of children, children I know were created like myself due to the extreme pictorial and graphic records kept by my mother and father of my birth and advancement into maturity. I know that the world did not arrive when these babies drew their first breath, and from that I can infer that my first breath also did nothing to create the place wherein I exist.
There are other ways of establishing reality preceded us, but the above are sufficient.
Therefore, since I know I exist due to all the subjective experiences I am now having, and I know that none of these subjective experiences are themselves the cause of the place wherein I find myself, the only conclusion is that there is a place outside of myself – an objective reality – wherein I live, move, and breath. However, I am not alone in this place. Billions of other life forms share it with me. After deep and prolonged study I learn that these other beings are all created and sustained in ways that are very similar to mine, and that the elements and forces which create and jostle us are consistent and affect us all in the same way – though each type of being and thing reacts to these forces differently due to their current unique natures.
Thus, it becomes clear that each being and thing upon the face of the earth – even the earth itself – exists in a place and time that does not need us in order to be and which behaves as it will regardless of what we believe about it. By watching how things work and interact we can discover truths about the space we occupy and the things we share it with, truths which exist regardless of what we believe or perceive.
Conclusion
An objective reality exists, and therefore objective facts – or truths – about it also exist. It is true that this external reality affects every being and thing within it in unique ways, and it is true that everything capable of sensation experiences it in their own unique way, but the subjective truths created by this exist side by side with the objective ones.
Reality is like a river. All things which we can perceive and measure change from one form to the next, and the environments in which they find themselves determine much about the nature of this change and the forms they will take; this temporal flow is like the water of the river. However, beneath the world of appearances are deep principles which guide this flow and govern the ways in which it can and cannot move; these principles are like the bed of the river.
The relative – or that which depends upon other circumstances and conditions in order to be what it is – and the subjective are present in every aspect of our lives in super-abundance. If we do not admit this and understand it we will throw ourselves and others into pools of deep misunderstanding and pain.
However, everything is not relative and subjective – even if it may only be experienced subjectively. We are created in specific ways in a specific place, we are sustained by specific things used in specific ways, and we pass out of existence due to specific principles that are testable and knowable. All of this happens without our consent and in spite of any beliefs we may have. What reality is reality is. It is the job of all who seek truth to make sure that the internal concepts they have about the flow and function of the external world are as accurate as possible, for failure to realize the objective and harmonize with it will throw us into a pit of bitter illusion as unpleasant and harmful as the one mentioned above.
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