What is Truth?
Philosophy is the search for truth, so it seems important that I explain what that word means in my writing as I begin to share my philosophy.
Let’s Begin a Language Game:
Ludwig Wittgenstein, a 20th century western philosopher coined the term “language games.” In a language game, we decide upon the definitions of words and use them for the “game” to communicate with each other. So long as we are using the same words and definitions, we are playing the same game and we are able to discuss in a productive way without talking past one another. If we start to use different words and definitions, we begin to misunderstand one another and may appear to disagree upon concepts when we actually disagree upon the words we are using.
Below, I will begin with the definition of truth.
Others may use different definitions for truth, but they are wrong… just kidding — they are talking about something other than what I am talking about and giving it the name truth. No need to get upset. We can call what I’m about to describe “The All Mighty Hotdog” instead of “truth” if we want to, it makes no difference what we call it so long as the word remains consistent.
Let the language game begin!
I am searching for The All Mighty Hotdog…
I mean, I am searching for Truth.
What do I mean by “Truth?”
I define Truth as: The common ground for all beings.
Remember, this is a “tautological” statement; it is not a premise or something I’m trying to prove. I am defining Truth as “the common ground for all beings.”
What are Beings, and What is Common Ground?
“Beings” A being is a thing that “is.” I will define “Beings” as things that appear to my senses to “exist” outside of my cognition. Things that we normally refer to as “observable things” or “physical things,” materials, particles of matter, movements, waves — things with mass that make us up, things we bump into or move through like water and gasses, and also particles and waves that don’t seem to have mass like electrons or things that that move at the speed of light (such as photons and gluons). There are probably a lot of beings/things that humans haven’t discovered yet (like gravitons) that may become more apparent as we theorize, search, and create apparatuses to detect; many beings are too small, too big, too fast, too slow, too far away, too bright, too dark, too hot, too cold… for us to easily detect without special tools, but they are still beings if they appear to my senses to exist, my inability to detect them easily does not prevent their existence.
I do not know what medium existing things are — are they what we call matter, or is what we perceive to be matter made of something that we don’t fully understand? I don’t know.
(The word “being” is often used to mean a thing that is “alive.” That is not how I am using it. A being by my definition is “a thing that is.”)
“Common Ground” The common ground that I seek is a thing most common — most universal for all beings. A thing that exists for all of us at all times.
The common ground is something of which every sensing being has a sense; something that no one is left out of. It is observable by all observing beings from the moment they begin observing to the moment they stop.
What is Truth: The Common Ground for All Beings?
There is only one thing that I can think of that fits the description of truth that I’ve laid out: The whole compilation of all beings.
The only thing that is common to all beings is the whole of all being.
All beings that have awareness are constantly aware of bits and pieces of the whole of all being whether they believe in it or not.
Anything less than the compilation of ALL beings is not common to all beings — because it, by definition, leaves some beings out.
Anything less than the compilation of ALL beings does not fit the definition of truth that I am seeking.
There is nothing “more” than the compilation of all beings. There is nothing beyond it.
The truth, the common ground for all beings, is the compilation of all beings — the whole of all being.
The truth is inconceivably immense, rich, and complex. It is literally everything to us, yet it contains even more rich and complex information than we can sense or imagine.
The truth is always there for us to consult and consider together. If we are willing to witness it and listen to each other’s accounts of it, it can bring us together. Our experiences of the common ground happen as sensations inside of us in our inner world of ideas where others do not have access, but we can interact with one another in the world of beings and compare and contrast our experiences.
We can attempt to express our personal portrayals of truth and share them with one another. More accurate portrayals of truth are possible, as exemplified in how we can learn to become better at drawing, painting, and sculpting realistically with practice. Others can witness how well we observe and check our portrayals against their own experience of truth to determine which appears most accurate to their experience.
Interestingly, as portrayals become more accurate, they also become more sensitive looking and similar looking. Two portrayals that closely resemble truth also closely resemble one another despite stylistic differences. Portrayals that are less accurate vary drastically in their appearance and cause discord when presented as being accurate when they are not. A Picasso cubism painting is not meant to resemble reality, but if it were presented as being an accurate representation, and a Vermeer was presented as being less accurate, there would most definitely be disagreement, and it isn’t about taste/preference in art. One portrayal is more correct in relation to reality, and the other is not. Accuracy in comparison to truth is not about taste or preference.
Common ground can be found if we are willing to keep observing truth with greater sensitivity and learning to check our work against our observations of truth, and making corrections as we go.
We can get better at understanding and we can get better at portraying our understandings with more sensitivity and accuracy. In so doing, we can prevent less discord and more tranquility without having to compromise individuality of vision.
Clarifications
I am referring to the whole of all beings — “Beings” are things that appear to exist outside of my cognition— Not the contents of my cognition: thoughts, ideas, or even sensations. I am referring to the actual “beings” that inspire my sensory apparatuses; the whole of all being that inspires all of my sensations, thoughts and ideas; the beings that give rise to my personal sensations that lead to my beliefs, wonders and denials.
In my next posts, I will discuss more about sensation and cognition.
Thank you for reading. Please share a comment if anything seems off or incorrect to you.
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