The Illusion of Justice and Absolute Truth

What is truth? A knowable fact constrained by the limitations of one’s perceptions — both singular and collective.

Truth does have many versions depending on the subjective experience of people involved. The canvas of facts always remain the same — the perception differs, which in-turn results in different truths for different people involved in one same experience.

‌In objective science, eliminating personal prejudices and arriving at a factual conclusion is imperative. But can objective science be arrived at, without subjective experiences?

“The essential element injected into physics by the theory of relativity is subjectivity.” — Paul Davies

Each objectively-accepted scientific theory is just a factual perception colored by individual bias that has gained the most confirmations. Many scientific theories are often proven wrong after centuries of belief that they were once true.

Thus, even scientifically proven truth is not absolute.

Without absolute truth, there can be no justice. Judiciary and law are the best possible versions of truth, but are not absolute. Society changes, cultures change, and so does the perception of truth. This in turn give rise to the death and birth of new laws that best define the most current form of justice, and the cycle continues Ad infinitum.

When major truths change, dynasties are overthrown.

Without absolute justice, the foundation of society lies on the popularly accepted form of truth. Democracy and politics are the best characterization of this system - when major truths change, dynasties are overthrown.

Thanks to its inherent nature, power can shape the truth. Through propaganda or sheer will, truth can be served on platter bent to suit its benefactor, and its often digested fully by the populace irrespective of its palatability.

It would be apt to say then, that power is the purest form of true justice in mankind. To take it a step ahead, we could argue that power is infact truth, and vice versa. But if power is evil, is truth evil too?

Corruption, crime and the seven-hundred vices then — how are they better (or worse), than the ten-thousand things that are good? In our search for truth and eternal justice then, can we ever arrive at the absolute, undeniable truth? Or akin to finding the end of a rainbow, are we forever cursed to never demystify this great mystery?

एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति-

~Truth is one, men know it by different names.