How Many Sources of Truth Are There?

When I was in college, my speech teacher made a statement I will never forget. He said, "There are many sources of truth". I thought to myself that I was raised to believe there was only ONE source of truth. Later in life, I found out he was right and I was wrong.

Many individuals draw upon very different sources of truth than I do when it comes to jobs and employment, education, politics, religeon and the way people organize themselves socially.

Each source of truth has its own framework of reality and many people cannot bridge from one to the other because it would threaten their security.

I call it "Hitching your wagon to a different star" when it comes to the way people select and choose their reality. And no one should be looked down upon for choosing a different star than another.

But when people hitch their wagons to different stars, there are problems that arise when it comes to identifying WHAT needs to be done, HOW does it need to be done, and WHO is responsible for doing it.

Keep you attention alert in coming months and try and learn where others stand as far as WHAT, HOW and WHO when it comes to the big issues of life.

Comments

[Nic]

I think perhaps you're confused about what you were raised to believe. The proposition that "truth is universal," which is surely what you're referring to when you talk about how you were raised, is an entirely different proposition than "there are NOT many different sources of truth," which is what you're interpreting your formative years as having taught you. Thus you make it sound like the two are incompatible, when they're not. "Truth is universal" is perfectly compatible with "there are many different sources of truth." The latter in NO way implies that truth is different from person to person; a proposition which is self-referentially incoherent. After all, is it true for ME, or true for YOU, that truth is different for different people. If it's only true for you, then it could make no sense to tell anyone. If it is true for everyone, then the statement itself is contradicted.