Judging Truth

So true
Funny how it seems
Always in time
But never in line for dreams
--Spandau Ballet

A truth can be viewed as something judged as correct. In my view, there stands only one final arbiter of truth, and that is our Creator. However, we have been endowed with powers of judgment so that we can progress in the Creator's image.

But our judgment is imperfect, meaning that we are likely to error in judging what is true. It is also likely that we will judge truth differently over time as a function of learning.

However imperfect our judgment, it seems that there are two dimensions upon which we can judge truth. One dimension is depth of truth. Depth of truth is the extent to which we judge something as true in the here and now.

We evaluate depth of truth thru various methods. We compare a potential truth to what we already know, i.e., to other truths. We employ logic to think through the correctness of a potential truth. We experiment and generate empirical evidence that confirms or disconfirms a potential truth's correctness.

All of these are processes of reason. Indeed, researchers employ these processes when seeking to add to our 'body of knowledge' - i.e., what we know to be true.

The second dimension is longitudinal truth. Longitudinal truth is the extent to which something deemed true in one period holds true over subsequent periods. It has been said that all truths are products of their times. That is necessarily true, as all discoveries are made inside particular periods of history.

But that does not mean that all truths are relative. While some items thought to be true may turn out to be temporary fad or fashion, other truths are durable and withstand 'the test of time.'

Durable truths are particularly valuable since they serve as social linking pins, providing common guideposts to people of various generations as they their interests.

Many people live their lives in pursuit of truth. That pursuit appears to encompass depth and longitudinal dimensions.