“There is no truth. There is only perception,”
Gustave Flaubert
The quote speaks to a profound philosophical view on the nature of reality and human understanding. Flaubert suggests that what we often consider to be “truth” is, in reality, subjective and shaped by individual perspectives.
”I do not believe in believing, my approach is to know, and knowing is a totally different dimension. It starts from doubt, it does not start from believing. The moment you start believing you have stopped inquiring. Belief is one of the most poisonous things to destroy human intelligence. All religions are based on beliefs, only science is based on doubt.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
”The truth is not for all men but only for those who seek it” Ayn Rand
Truth must not be mysterious. It should be understood for that which is not understood cannot be known to be true. Truth must be plain, not very strange, not cryptic or impossible to explain.
Religious doctrines that are blatantly admitted to be “mysteries” should not be declared or acknowledged to be true. To such belong the “mysteries” of the Faith of the Catholic Church and others that adopted them. “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. Since its adoption for almost 2000 years, this doctrine remains beyond explanation, beyond understanding, and beyond common sense.
The only things that do not change in this universe are nature and the laws that govern them. The laws of nature reflect the orderly and wondrous intentions, the wisdom, and the providence of God. The mechanisms (activities) of nature show a universe that is alive, responsive, constantly moving, reproducing, sustaining, evolving, full of energy, and life-giving. Except in the area of anthropomorphism (man-like image and emotions), all the characteristics of the gods of religions can be observed to be possessed by the universe/nature. A fundamental shift in our thinking is all that is needed to see the truth that the universe/nature is God.
There have been many changes in how humans look at the world. In particular, we changed our thinking about the cosmos/universe and the natural order of what is out there to be known. Not only did we discover the stars and galaxies beyond what the naked eye can see but we also discovered the universe of the invisible; atoms, photons, electrons, neutrinos, quarks, etc. Science now believes that we are near the time when questions like “Where did we come from”, “Is there a God”, and “What is God”, can be answered scientifically. This is due to the fact that nature has not changed since the time of creation. As humans discover the secrets of nature, we come to understand that its laws and properties remain the same. They are the same yesterday, today, and forever. They are unchangeable, immutable, and always constant. For the deists-pantheists, such attributes speak of the universal attributes of God. Will science come to the conclusion that the universe/nature is the elusive God humanity has been searching for?
When religions use the word truth, they refer to the concept created to embody their beliefs. The worst allusion to the word truth, however, was when Christianity assigned the word to a person — Jesus. What was just a concept became a person. In the same manner, they also hijacked the Greek word “logos” and converted it into a person.
Here’s an excerpt from Encyclopedia Britannica:
”Logos, in ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology, refers to the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning. Although the concept is also found in Indian, Egyptian, and Persian philosophical and theological systems, it became particularly significant in Christian writings and doctrines as a vehicle for conceiving the role of Jesus as the principle of God active in the creation and the continuous structuring of the cosmos and in revealing the divine plan of salvation to human beings. It thus underlies the basic Christian doctrine of the preexistence of Jesus.
The idea of logos in Greek thought goes back at least to the 6th-century-BCE philosopher Heraclitus, who discerned in the cosmic process a logos analogous to the reasoning power in humans. Later, the Stoics, philosophers who followed the teachings of the thinker Zeno of Citium (4th–3rd century BCE), defined the logos as an active rational and spiritual principle that permeated all reality. They called the logos providence, nature, god, and the soul of the universe.”
Philo Judaeus (Philo of Alexandria), a 1st-century-CE Jewish philosopher, taught that the logos was the intermediary between God and the cosmos, being both the agent of creation and the agent through which the human mind can apprehend and comprehend God. According to Philo (who interpreted in religious terms the teachings of Plato), the logos was both immanent in the world and at the same time the transcendent divine mind.
As the first to attempt to synthesize revealed faith and philosophic reason, Philo occupies a unique position in the history of philosophy and religion. He is regarded by Christians as a forerunner of Christian theology.
In the Gospel of John, the concept of the logos was anthropomorphized and thus, what was a concept or principle in the Greek thought — LOGOS — evolved and became a person in the Christian doctrine.
In Philosophy, we also use the word “truth” when we’re actually referring to “absolute truth.” Absolute truth is any statement that accurately reflects reality at all times and places. For example, it is always true that circles are round and that the sum of the angles of any Euclidean triangle is 180 degrees. It is always true that water molecules are combinations of hydrogen and oxygen, and table salt is always a combination of sodium and chlorine.
Should I have the knowledge and understanding I can go on and mention what composes certain kinds of metals, liquids, plasma, or any other physical matter found in nature and that they are the same substance in the past, the present, and the future. Oxygen is always oxygen in the same manner that carbon has always been carbon. Those are absolute truths.
What is my point here? Absolute truth can only be ascribed to things that do not change for eternity, and, in our physical situation, such can only be ascribed to physical things — things that can be proven to exist by our natural senses.
Religious doctrines are nothing but concepts or fabrications and cannot be considered absolute truth. Study the history of doctrines and find out that they are not eternal. They don’t have a past that goes back to the beginning of time and they have been changed or modified also at certain times. The most revered doctrines of Christianity do not go back to the time of creation but are clearly the fabrications of religion. The doctrines that accompany the names Jesus, Krishna, Allah, Elohim, etc. were nothing but literary constructs of religions. Clearly, the phrase “absolute truth” can not be applied to them.
Absolute truth is a statement that is true at all times and in all places. It is something that is always true no matter what the circumstances. It is a fact that cannot be changed.
Religious truth is totally another matter; they can not be proven to be true. There is no religious truth that is universally accepted and applied. Their importance or significance is dependent subjectively upon how people appreciate them. Unlike gold or diamond that will always be gold or diamond however and whoever will be looking at them, wherever they may be. On the contrary, religious doctrines could be precious to one but will be considered trash by another. Religious doctrines have no universal appeal. Religious truths are all fabrications, just like the religions that carry them.
Christians love the words of Jesus saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Do they know that there were other claimants of such statements, or parts of it, that preceded Jesus? Do we even reckon that acceptance of such words were subjective? Jesus is a different person in someone else’s religion. Even in Christianity alone, Jesus is perceived differently in various sects.
The religion Taoism is also known as “the way.” The concept of Anekantvad in Jainism teaches how to arrive at the absolute truth. In suffism, Al Hallaj is popularly known to have claimed that he is the truth. Lastly, Hinduism is also known as “a way of life”. In essence, the amalgamation of the words “way, truth, and life” was a clever Christian construct of bringing under one person the significant tenets of different religions.
The concept of absolute truth challenges the relativistic perspective that truth is subjective and varies from person to person. Absolute truth proponents argue that there are objective facts that exist regardless of individual viewpoints.
In philosophy, “absolute truth” refers to the concept that there exists a singular, objective, and unchanging reality or set of truths that exist independently of human perception, belief, or interpretation. It represents the idea that certain facts or principles are universally and eternally valid, irrespective of individual viewpoints, cultural variations, or historical contexts.
Key characteristics of absolute truth in philosophy include:
- Universality: Absolute truth is not subject to variation or relativity. It applies universally and consistently to all individuals, regardless of their cultural or personal perspectives.
- Objectivity: It is an objective reality that stands apart from subjective beliefs or opinions. Absolute truth exists independently of human interpretation.
- Immutability: Absolute truth remains constant and unchanging over time. It is not influenced by historical or temporal factors.
- Certainty: Absolute truth is considered the most certain form of knowledge, as it is not contingent on subjective or provisional judgments.
Philosophy and religion define truth in different ways. The complexity of that simple word must be reckoned with. Truth in philosophy is based on reason that requires proof, while truth in religion are fabrications, is based on faith, and does not require proof.