Truth

I'd gladly lose me to find you
I'd gladly give up all I had
To find you I'd suffer anything and be glad
--The Who

It has been said that a worthy goal of life is pursuit of 'the truth.' But what is the truth in this context?

Someone who is truthful is honest. Honesty can be expressed in one's dealings with others. We are honest when we do not lie to others, or when we do not cheat them. Moreover, we can be honest with people by always being ourselves instead of pretending to be someone we're not. Original rather than fabricated. Consistent, straightforward...true.

Indeed, honesty in social interactions seems a necessary component of lifelong pursuit of the truth. Necessary but not sufficient.

Just as important if not more so is the internal component to truth seeking--striving to be honest with one's self. Truth of mind. Intellectual honesty.

Intellectual honesty means seeking to extend the domain of what we know to be true. By definition, truths cannot be falsified. Thus, when we encounter contradictions during the sensemaking of our daily lives, intellectual honesty requires that we reason through these anomolies.

For example, we might develop propositions about the contradictions and test them against what we know to be true. The testing process might involve marshalling lessons learned from passed studies, gathering new empirical evidence, or applying logic. All are processes of reason.

The hallmark of intellectual honesty is persistence. When contradictions are encountered, intellectually honest people do not set them aside. Instead, intellectual honesty requires grappling with problems until truth is obtained.

The pursuit of truth, therefore, is an internal, highly personal journey--the quality of which cannot be judged by other people.

The ultimate arbiter in this regard will certainly be our Creator.