Monday, August 29, 2011

"The Foundation of Reality/Truth"

Reality and thus truth is found in one of two places.  It is either external to the individual and culture or it is internal to the individual and culture.

When truth is external it then becomes an ethical truth or a truth that is not dependent upon the individual or the social situation in which the individual finds himself.  On the other hand when truth is thought to be internal to and thus dependent upon the individual or the social situation it is a more or moral truth.

One is as fragile as the individual while the other has the durability that comes because of its demonstrated veracity over time and culture.  One is subjective and open to one's own interpretation, thus is the basis for conflict and even hostility.  The objective truth may provide for discussion in its nuances but overall tends to unite as it is not dependent upon the whims of the individual.

The outcome of subjective truth is that it is more a reflection than anything else.  It is a reflection of the mores of the culture, the moral opinion of the individual, or some combination of the two.  It results in such things as, moral truth which reflect culture; exclusive private truth, truth that belongs to a subset of the culture but not to the whole; or self truth, that which has a very egocentric focus.

All of these are fraught with problems.  For example the truth that is a reflection of the culture is a moving truth and thus the security of knowing what is right and correct is not afforded to the one who embraces such.  Exclusive and private truth can result in the notion that because of that special truth one can behave on a different level.  Then the one with self truth has a truth that is a reflection of his morality and that morality is often no higher than his personal desires.  This is the one who give himself permission to behave as he  chooses even if it is at the expense of another.

So, what then is one's choice in this matter of reality/truth?  One choice is to build on the internal which as it turns out is ever changing--ever shifting, as the tides of personal desire and opinion ebb and flow.  The other choice is to build on that which is external to the individual and the culture, that which as noted has stood the test of time and circumstance.

As upsetting as the circumstances detailed above might be, those referenced can at the very least, agree that though different and conflicted there is some form of truth.  However, there is a greater concern that should disturb all no matter one's internal/external truth position.  It is titled the Post Modern Movement which reject all of the above!

Why should this be of concern?  The concern is that without some sense of truth, there is not sense of right and wrong--the basis of conscience.  Without conscience, there is no restraint.  Without restrain there is relational and cultural danger.

As actions grow out of the notion of no restraint, there comes the idea that anything which possession organization (organization requires some form of restraint and thus truth standard), is not just expendable but a threat to be dealt with.  In the extreme of the Post Modern cause there is the Anarchist Movement.

Again without universal truth there no restraint.  Without restraint there is a rapid decline--a downward spiral into chaos.

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