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Friday, May 19, 2006

Truth

"...is the opposite of lies."
"...is to tell the truth."
"...differs from person to person."
"...what is truth but what we believe to be truth?"


"I don't believe that there's one truth. There are so many different people, and there are so many different ways you can look at things. I don't see how there could be just one truth."


These quotes, giving vague descriptions of truth, point towards relativism - a doctrine instructing that truth and morality are relative and not absolute. "Relativism asserts that what is accepted as truth is relative to a person's situation or standpoint, and denies that any standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.


If truth is relative, then absolute right and absolute wrong become doubtful and obscure. And if truth is relative, then only subjective and indefinite answers exist for the purpose and meaning of life. So is there any absolute or real truth in this complex and uncertain world?


"Truth sits upon the lips of dying men." - Matthew Arnold

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