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fandomhigh2024-06-18 01:19 pm
endsthegame) wrote in fandomhigh2024-06-18 01:19 pm
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Practical Philosophy, Tuesday
"Truth," Ender began, "Is relative."
He considered the people sitting in this circle. "The island is currently present in a time where that seems to have been proven," he said. "One being's reality can be quite different to another's, despite living in the same geographical space and time. As such, over the years, philosophers have often fought one another about the meaning of truth, and how one goes about gathering it."
He picked up his water bottle, shifting on his pillow. "For a long time, many people on this Earth believed that gods were the only ones who held the truth of the world, and in order to understand it, one had to take it on faith that they were there, that they had a will, that they moved mountains."
"The Greek philosophers, of course, had their own feelings about it. Plato thought we were all born with knowledge inside of us, and that the world around us didn't hold a candle to that true knowledge. But his student Aristotle took the concept of knowledge in another direction, one that would come to inform the way this world is run: he believed that we could observe truth, that there was such a thing as gathering evidence and coming to truthful conclusions."
He took a sip. "Of course, God and Faith dominated much of the Middle Ages, but even then, wheels were turning, as religious men struggled to reconcile what their faith was telling them with the growing practice of science. By the early modern age, during what would come to be known as the enlightenment, John Locke had devised the concept of empiricism - the idea that truth could only be reached through testing and weighing and careful consideration of the evidence we achieve through our senses. Truth was not contained within men nor Gods; truth was to be observed, and then hewn in stone."
He tapped the bottle. "But as the past few centuries, and certainly decades, have born out, what truth we accept is still rooted in our faith, in what we believe in our core must be true," he said. "Human beings, at least, seek out evidence that confirms what they already believe, and ignore that which doesn't. Their beliefs thus shape the world that they see around them."
"So I'm curious: where do you believe knowledge comes from? Have you ever caught yourself believing something is true merely because you wanted to? Or have you struggled to let evidence be heard when no one seems interested in hearing it? And is truth important at all, if ears, minds and hearts can be bent with lies for a benevolent purpose?"
He considered the people sitting in this circle. "The island is currently present in a time where that seems to have been proven," he said. "One being's reality can be quite different to another's, despite living in the same geographical space and time. As such, over the years, philosophers have often fought one another about the meaning of truth, and how one goes about gathering it."
He picked up his water bottle, shifting on his pillow. "For a long time, many people on this Earth believed that gods were the only ones who held the truth of the world, and in order to understand it, one had to take it on faith that they were there, that they had a will, that they moved mountains."
"The Greek philosophers, of course, had their own feelings about it. Plato thought we were all born with knowledge inside of us, and that the world around us didn't hold a candle to that true knowledge. But his student Aristotle took the concept of knowledge in another direction, one that would come to inform the way this world is run: he believed that we could observe truth, that there was such a thing as gathering evidence and coming to truthful conclusions."
He took a sip. "Of course, God and Faith dominated much of the Middle Ages, but even then, wheels were turning, as religious men struggled to reconcile what their faith was telling them with the growing practice of science. By the early modern age, during what would come to be known as the enlightenment, John Locke had devised the concept of empiricism - the idea that truth could only be reached through testing and weighing and careful consideration of the evidence we achieve through our senses. Truth was not contained within men nor Gods; truth was to be observed, and then hewn in stone."
He tapped the bottle. "But as the past few centuries, and certainly decades, have born out, what truth we accept is still rooted in our faith, in what we believe in our core must be true," he said. "Human beings, at least, seek out evidence that confirms what they already believe, and ignore that which doesn't. Their beliefs thus shape the world that they see around them."
"So I'm curious: where do you believe knowledge comes from? Have you ever caught yourself believing something is true merely because you wanted to? Or have you struggled to let evidence be heard when no one seems interested in hearing it? And is truth important at all, if ears, minds and hearts can be bent with lies for a benevolent purpose?"
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Listen to the Lecture
Talk.
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
Re: Talk.
"And your answer?" he asked.
Re: Talk.
She considered another analogy and unlike Ender's stone face of unmoving muscles, her answer made her lips twitch. "Truth is like any other seasoning. Largely a matter of taste, and different dishes - and diners - require different quantities."
Talk to the Teacher
OOC