Can We Know Truth?
Post date: Sep 25, 2014 5:04:43 PM
Here's an interesting paradox. How do we know truth? Let's assume that the world is all that there is. We're going to assume that there's no supernatural anything.
What is truth?
Truth is what is. Whatever is real is true. I can't claim that singer Michael Jackson has ever been President of the United States since it was not true.
But how do we know truth?
We perceive truth through our senses. So, the next question is if our senses are 100% reliable? The answer is no. No person's senses are 100% reliable. Your state of mind (conscious or subconscious) will affect how you perceive the world around you.
Consider a magic trick. The magician gets up on stage and locks his assistant in a box. He then cuts her in half. On the stage, you see a woman who was whole entered the box. You now see a woman whose torso and up is in one box and waist down in another. Did you actually see this woman cut in half?
How about smelling marijuana burning? You're 100% sure you're smelling marijuana burning, yet you're down the road from a farmer burning alfalfa.
What about having the smell of burning toast? You're wondering who didn't check on their breakfast. All of a sudden, you suffer a heart attack.
What you see, touch, smell, taste, and hear could be wrong. These are just examples where the senses are falsifiable. So, can a person claim to be 100% correct on anything?
The answer is NO. What you think you know is based on what you perceived. For this reason, police question multiple witnesses to a crime to get narrative. Each person may have seen something different.
Still, lets go back to the magician example. The entire crowd sees the woman sawed in half. Does this mean that everyone correctly perceived the truth?
Let's introduce the supernatural into the mix. God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God was NOT natural, but God is spirit. When God communicates, He's always understood. Is it possible for an omniscient being to convey truth in a way where the recipient will understand exactly what the omniscient being wants them to?
If this is possible, then could God be the ultimate source of Truth? Could we know truth through God?