Absolute Truth

[Angrboda]

"Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong."
— H.L. Mencken


I think Chuck has the right of it: the first question, foremost, is "What is truth?" Whether it's relative or absolute cannot be answered, indeed has no definition, until the first question is answered.

And as regards that first question, philosophers are still trading a round of 'lolwut's'. Much as I love me some Cinjin, I must respectfully disagree about the value of philosophy. The utility of a field is not always measured in how many new toasters it puts out per minute. Philosophy has been wrestling with hard questions, and there is no shame, even after all this time, to admit, "we just don't know." If more people could, we'd have a saner world. I think the anti-philosophy views are a valid reflection of the maxim that people are happier with a simple lie than a complex truth. Though perhaps it is a simple matter of professional allegiance; I am not in an ideal position to judge.

A year or so back, I suggested to my philosophy group that we hold a discussion on the various theories of truth, because I wanted to know more about them. Somehow, I ended up chairing the meeting, and had to become a three minute expert on all the major theories, and I'm still trying to catch up to where I should have been that night in terms of competence and depth. My hobbyist's take on the field is, all the different theories of truth have good things to commend them, mostly. The dark side is that all theories of truth seem to have deep, jagged cracks in their edifice. And if you are one of those who spurns philosophy and its confusions, all that likely means is that you have embraced defective notions without knowing it in your eagerness to spurn us eggheads, and to cling to your ignorance.

What's the solution? As with any other science: keep working the problem, and hope the answers come sooner than later.