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The Social Construction of Truth

This is a series of philosophical meditations attempting to tell the story about how 'truth' (general term) is a socially constructed phenomenon.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Social Construction.(Continued) The individual holds the origin of truth: within each individual resides the tendency to evaluate a state of affairs which is put forward by an utterer in a discourse context (i.e. a social space). This evaluation is something we all know of and is exemplified in the simple dialogues of the last post. This evaluation is a feeling--and this is what truth is. Hence I am not putting forward a theory of truth so much as I am announcing a realization of what truth is.

Theory vs. Reality. In a theory of truth one begins with a few examples of things which are true (e.g. 'Snow is white', 'Der Schnee ist weiss', etc.) and attempts to find some sort of definition which encompasses all possible examples where we would say that such and such a statement/sentence is true. But the problem with theory is that it must always remain a theory and distant from human reality, which is the only reality of which we are communally and directly aware (any other reality requires some manner of faith to uphold it). Perhaps I am thinking of the distinction between theory and practice which was talked about so much by marxist philosophers (e.g. Georg Lukács).

Now how do we get away from relativism? According to what I am saying, each person is somehow a standard of truth, but I deny that there is any one standard of truth other than perhaps the realization that each person is the standard. (I must be careful to be clear here--this is difficult.) But relativism is fragmented and is not conducive to community or to human life in general: there is no absolute foundation above all other pseudo-foundations, but we must not fall into the abyss of fragmentation (where there really is gnashing of teeth) either. Ther is danger either way. So somehow I will end up saying that each person must decide what to do: no person can decide what to do for another. What is the nature of this decision? Perhaps it is a decision to live within a certain framework which at one time, and perhaps yet, claimed to be absolute, and to submit the truth of the self (the only direct, non-theoretical, truth) for the truth of the community which allows us to avoid the problem of the abyss of fragmentation.

Perhaps this is a decision which is continually being made. And I do not as yet admit that there is a right decision and a wrong one: so far there are only the implications to be considered: If one decides to devote one's self to the truth of the self then one must accept the consequences of that decision; if one decides to be devoted to the life of the community and the truth which is demarcated by that body, then one must accept the consequences of that. These are the paths to be worked out. Both are hard: the first allows freedom of the personal spirit (the self) but causes one to be set apart from the community, the later allows one to be part of the community (thereby feeling a part of an integrated organic whole--a "loving" community) but requires the submission of the truth of the self.

posted by pennedav  # 9:38 AM
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