Among people, there is unanimity regarding the concept that there are at least two forms of Truth. One type of Truth is referred to as objective truth. This type of truth is something that has been proven as factual. An excellent example of this would be ‘people need water and air to live’ or ‘water freezes once it is cooled to a certain temperature.’ Another type of truth which people commonly dispute exists is the subjective truth. This is the type of truth that people commonly have more experience with. It is the type of truth that a person produces and contributes to, based upon personal experience and their perception within their experience. An excellent example of this type of truth is when someone tells a joke that hurts another’s feelings. The speaker’s subjective truth is that they are hilarious. The victim’s subjective truth is that the joke was mean or a form of bullying. The reason people debate the existence of the subjective truth is that some people believe that if something is subjective, it would not be considered truth at all, but opinion. Personally, I place a lot of value in the straightforward definitions in a dictionary. Because of this, I believe truth can be subjective because the definition of truth is different from the definition of fact.
“Fact” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, as ‘A thing that is known or proved to be true; the truth about events as opposed to interpretation’ (OED online). The Oxford English Dictionary is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English Language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 600,000 words, past and present, from across the English-speaking world (OED Online) – and therefore, considered a reputable source. “Truth” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, as ‘the quality or state of being true; that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality; a fact or belief that is accepted as true’ (OED online). To show that truth has variation, the Merriam Webster Dictionary, defines “truth” as ‘the body of real things, events, and facts; a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true, sincerity in action, character, and utterance; in accordance with fact’ (MWD online). This notion of truth is respected worldwide and an essential to many societies for beneficial relationships with others, but it is, for some reason, difficult to find, especially with national issues and concerns. Some people, however, view truth in diverse ways very analytically, as signified by the slightly different definitions.
On September 11, 2001, the world watched in disbelief, as two planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. Years later, the same people view the same clips from that day and wonder what happened, now questioning what they have been told. With the many theories that exist, one does not know what to believe, leading everyone to wonder: what exactly is the truth, how many truths are there, and how do you sort the truths from the many lies? Frankly, the only complete facts about September 11th are that two planes collided into the World Trade Center buildings, both towers collapsed, and many innocent people lost their lives. Although much of the information that the world knows about September 11th is generally believed, there are some that criticize this ‘believed truth.’ Therefore, it can be argued that truth is broadly based on perception.
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Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave presents a vision of prisoners bound in front of a fire watching the shadows dance on the cave wall in front of them. The silhouettes are the only ‘reality’ the prisoners know. Plato argues that there is an error in how we humans misconstrue our perceptions as reality when they are limited. The allegory exposes how that error affects our education, our religion, and our politics. The error that Plato addresses is believing, unconditionally, unquestionably, that what we see is true. In The Allegory of the Cave, the prisoners in the caves truly know that the shadows, dancing on the wall behind them, are real. Plato proposes that humans have a confined view of the world and that there are two diverse perceptions of reality, a ‘bodily eye’ and a ‘mind’s eye.’ The ‘mind’s eye,’ the ideal site of visual recollection or imagination, is a higher level of thinking. When the prisoners are set free from their fetters and begin to discover the outside world, this eye transpires. The ‘bodily eye’ is a comparison for the senses; it relies on sensory images about the world in order to establish what reality is. This eye is the only eye which exists inside the cave where the prisoners inhabit.
Perception is the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted based on personal experience. Perception is how you look at other people and the world around you. Being able to select, manage and intercept information starts the process of perceiving. Perception affects the way people connect and communicate with others. An individual’s pattern of thinking can affect their perception of others. In The Allegory of the Cave one of the prisoners is then brought out of the cave. Once out of the cave the prisoner discovers that everything he thought was real is not. He acquires the understanding of all these modern images as actual and true. Since the prisoner has been in the dark, both literally and figuratively, the light blinds him. Representing knowledge, the light is too intense for him to see and understand. He first must be re-educated. He learns that the reflections are more authentic than the shadows and the objects more authentic than reflections. He must inhabit a new reality that does not exist within the cave. His perception has changed.
Truth is a situational value because truth is different for everyone, almost like an opinion. Our experiences shape how we perceive things. If a hiker had recently been bitten by a snake, he might startle if he sees a coiled up rope while out on a hike. A child living in a cancer ward would perceive life differently from someone who takes their life for granted. If everyone in the world had the same experiences, we more than likely would all have the same perceptions. If we all had the same perceptions, no one would critique another’s work, leading everyone to be mediocre. The world as we know it would seize to exist the way we currently recognize it. We would all end up with the same results, and no one would strive to discover new formulas to advance new frontiers. With the same results, we wouldn’t have any of the groundbreaking philosophers, scientists, explorers or inventors. The world would be rampant with diseases because there would be no doctors. The people who came up with vaccines and antibiotics would never have discovered them. Without the desire for change, no one would have discovered new lands, new people, and new cultures. Without the determination and perseverance and the thirst for discovery, Livingston may have never overcome enormous obstacles, sickness and near-death experiences, trudging through inhospitable jungle environments, to discover the source of the Nile River.
In The Allegory of the Cave when the prisoner returns to the cave and tells the others his perception of the outside world, they react reluctantly. From their perspective, the enlightenment that the prisoner obtained while outside the cave is inferior to their beliefs and the life they have always known. They see ignorance is bliss in this situation. They are afraid because when the prisoner returned from the outside world, he had been blinded by the light. They do not understand why the prisoner is talking so positively about a place that has severely crippled him. An experience can be positive from one’s perspective and also be negative by another’s. If two people are arguing, they can still both be correct, if telling the truth from their own perspective. For example, if two people are standing on opposite side of a number, one person sees the number six, and the other sees the number nine. They are both correct from their perspectives. Not only is the prisoner who left’s perspective different from the prisoners he left behind, but if two people had left the cave, their perceptions of the same outside world could still be different based on two distinctly different experiences.
Another perspective from The Allegory of the Cave is that the path the prisoner uses to transcend from the darkness of the cave to the brightness of the outside world, could represent a child growing up or someone who is maturing and leaving the truth of the world that they know for the truth of the world they will discover. For example, the imaginary friend we had when we were younger. Our imaginary friend is genuine to us. They have a name and a personality and are very existent in our minds to the point we may be able to see an actual person standing there. But as we get older and make the ascent into the world of knowledge and information, our perceptions change, and we discard our imaginary friends. We are faced with a new diverse reality, where we start to think that what our eyes show us is the only reality, the only truth. We forget to analyze and question our surroundings and don’t consider that maybe there is another ascension, out of this ‘cave’ of maturity and light as well.
Human beings’ knowledge of integrity, authenticity, and truth will always be inadequate by our concern of new ideas and new perspectives. As long as we are fearful of questioning, we will be inclined to ‘execute’ anyone who leaves the cave and returns with the truth.
