What happened today or yesterday belongs to the world of facts. Facts
make up the truth and ignoring, denying or twisting facts, is being
untruthful. So sad that we see sooooo much of the latter in the politics of today.
The facts of hundreds or thousands of years ago are very often much less verifiable and here interpretation of and speculation about partial knowledge of facts suddenly starts to make up part of the truth and people with different interpretations, different speculations may have different perceptions on what happened and believe in different truths.
While the above may be called factual truth, there is also something like mathematical truth. Mathematical truth is robust and undeniable. A number multiplied by another number is only ONE other number and nothing else. It is verifiable and nothing else can be the result. Scientist like this kind of certainty and have applied mathematics to many of the physical and chemical processes happening in the world.
However if we move in the science of the extremes, like subatomic levels with quantum mechanics, suddenly mathematical certainty ceases to exist and so is it with the grand universe. Hypotheses, speculations become science, and the more we have of these, the more science moves into a belief system than in an exact system of certainty. And for many lay people the difference between the proven parts of science and the speculations and hypothetical parts are not clear. Take the big bang theory. A hypothesis that may be ten times harder to believe than the existence of God, is accepted by many as a result of scientific endeavor but is in reality a mere nonsensical hypothesis. All matter was compressed into almost nothing and then boom, in a few seconds we had a universe. A universe that is said to be expanding, but what is it expanding into? Is there a border of the universe, and what is beyond that border to expand into? Hypothetical, speculative,..., more than a bit. Even if the universe is expanding, it is still more likely a part of an oscillating movement of expansion and contraction (that may last from a few centuries to a few millennia), since so many things are oscillating, even a wave of light.
Above we have been talking about physical truths. There is of course also a mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual truth. Far to many scientists are becoming obsessed with physical truth and do miss out on the enormous truths that do exist beyond the sensory realm.
The facts of hundreds or thousands of years ago are very often much less verifiable and here interpretation of and speculation about partial knowledge of facts suddenly starts to make up part of the truth and people with different interpretations, different speculations may have different perceptions on what happened and believe in different truths.
While the above may be called factual truth, there is also something like mathematical truth. Mathematical truth is robust and undeniable. A number multiplied by another number is only ONE other number and nothing else. It is verifiable and nothing else can be the result. Scientist like this kind of certainty and have applied mathematics to many of the physical and chemical processes happening in the world.
However if we move in the science of the extremes, like subatomic levels with quantum mechanics, suddenly mathematical certainty ceases to exist and so is it with the grand universe. Hypotheses, speculations become science, and the more we have of these, the more science moves into a belief system than in an exact system of certainty. And for many lay people the difference between the proven parts of science and the speculations and hypothetical parts are not clear. Take the big bang theory. A hypothesis that may be ten times harder to believe than the existence of God, is accepted by many as a result of scientific endeavor but is in reality a mere nonsensical hypothesis. All matter was compressed into almost nothing and then boom, in a few seconds we had a universe. A universe that is said to be expanding, but what is it expanding into? Is there a border of the universe, and what is beyond that border to expand into? Hypothetical, speculative,..., more than a bit. Even if the universe is expanding, it is still more likely a part of an oscillating movement of expansion and contraction (that may last from a few centuries to a few millennia), since so many things are oscillating, even a wave of light.
Above we have been talking about physical truths. There is of course also a mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual truth. Far to many scientists are becoming obsessed with physical truth and do miss out on the enormous truths that do exist beyond the sensory realm.
What is the truth?
ReplyDeleteIs lesbianism a "choice", "infectious state", "genetic condition" or "mental disorientation"?
Can public caning of the two women attempting same-sex relations "prevent" homosexuality?
Can we cane any patient to prevent them from spreading an infectious disease eg AIDS?
What is the truth?
:)
Important questions. As for whether it is a choice or not, we can read all evidence and remain in a level of uncertainty, but while being aware of this uncertainty, we tend to make up our minds in one or the other direction. Once we do that, many of us tend to selectively read further evidence and try to prove our belief against all odds, forgetting our high level of uncertainty at the beginning. As for the caning, this is a truth in the dimension of the heart. My heart (and perhaps any right thinking/feeling person's heart) does NOT support caning. I feel that the cane-supporters live in a small closed space, right at the center of an inflated ego, extremely far away from our Creator.
DeleteHaha. I like this high level answer and i'm agreeable with you.
ReplyDeleteHowever, is it necessary (and appropriate) to strictly demand the view to be totally uncertain? To be exactly at the mid-point between yes and no all the time?
Or can it be slightly lean to one side but still challengeable? Haha.
:)
Hey, I like this discussion too. Thanks. I lean to so many sides on so many topics. But as Voltaire was saying: "Doubt is not comfortable but certainty is often madness." :) (maybe the quote is not exactly what Voltaire said but it was definitely something near to that)
DeletePS: Voltaire also said: "judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers" and you certainly put up some superb questions here. Thanks again