IS TRUTH A MATTER OF OPINION?

One question that is often asked of me — actually, it’s more of a statement — is, ‘You assert that truth—that is, reality, actuality, fact—is what is. Surely it’s a case of what is truth for one person may not be truth for someone else? It’s a matter of opinion or belief. You have your version of truth. I have mine.’

W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911).
Photographed by Elliott & Fry in 1878.
Source: New York Public Library's
Digital Library.

Now, some people — especially subjectivists and relativists — love to say, ‘Well, I believe the sky is blue, but it is open to you or anyone else to believe that it is green or red or whatever colour you believe.’ Yes, in the words of W. S. Gilbert, pictured, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, this 'disease' of wrong thinking means:

‘And I am right, 
And you are right, 
And all is right as right can be!’ 

We are all right, none of us is wrong, we are all equally precious, we are all winners. Winners in what, I ask? A contest to determine who is the most stupid? (Sorry.)

I usually say to those who assert that truth is a matter of opinion or belief, ‘What has opinion or belief got to do with any of this?’ I can still hear the voice of my old philosophy lecturer. He would say, ‘The sky is blue. The sky does not become any bluer because you believe it to be blue. Further, the proposition — "the sky is blue" — does not become any truer because you believe it to be true.’

Let’s explore a little further the idea that we all have our own ‘version’ of truth, so truth is not something objective or ‘out there’ to behold. Well, I don’t doubt that people do in fact have their own versions of truth. However, you cannot have a version of something (i.e. truth) unless that something (truth) exists in its own right. An objective issue is always raised. Let me explain. Let’s say that truth is for Sam X, whereas truth for Sheila is not X. (She thinks truth is, say, Y.) Now, if we leave the disputants, Sam and Sheila, right out of it, we come back to a real contradiction turning on an objective issue, namely, is truth X or not?

A blue sky—with a few clouds. Playa Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba.
Photo taken by the author in August 2018.

One more thing. Here’s another problem with subjectivism and relativism. If things are as one believes or thinks them to be, then that implies that each person, or in the case of cultural relativism each culture, is infallible in their judgments and opinions. In other words, they cannot err. And it would also mean that there can never be any real difference. Thus, if I think the sky is blue, and you think the sky is red, there is no disagreement or real contradiction. It is simply a case that, ‘The sky is for me blue,’ and ‘The sky is for you not blue.’ Those two propositions are not in contradiction to each other. Isn’t that wonderful? After all, we don’t want conflict or disagreement, do we? Nonsense, I say! Bring it on! I’m ready!

You may think that I am a little dogmatic about all this, but am I? Who is the one who asserts infallibility—that people cannot err in their judgments and opinions? Not the realist, but the subjectivist and the relativist of which there are far too many these days, thanks to postmodernism and what has flowed from it. If only they would think things through — logically!

That’s my rant for the day.