A widespread MISCONCEPTION is that Truth is an accessible goal, or that searching
for truth is a legitimate occupation. That is, if one tries hard enough, one
can finally arrive at Truth. That truth is something that can be searched for,
and though difficult, can be found and identified.
This is one of the most serious errors that
has plagued and continues to plague mankind.
One of the most
common titles for books and articles dealing with the subject of Truth
is the title “The Search for Truth” or something along those lines. It
seems that these writers have not asked themselves the question: Is
Searching for Truth a legitimate endeavor? How does one search for
something when one is ignorant of what he is looking for? What exactly
is the Nature of Searching?
There seem to be two states that one can be
in before searching for something:
1- You have lost an
object which you once possessed,
thus you already know what you are looking for: its shape, size, color,
etc. OR, someone has shown you an image of the lost object or has
explained clearly what has been lost.
e.g. If you lost your car keys and begin to search for them, you already
have a clear mental image of what you need to find. Or if someone has
lost a pet and he shows you a picture of it or describes clearly the
size, color, breed, name, etc., then you have some idea of what to
search for.
Searching under these circumstances is a reasonable
and legitimate activity. In both cases, what is being searched for is a
material object that would be apparent to the senses once it is
approached.
2- If you do not know what you are looking
for, then “searching” becomes a futile effort.
In the case of Truth, the idea that one can search for it is a totally
meaningless exercise.
If you do not know what Truth is, how would you
decide that you have found it? (Of course if you already know what Truth
is, there would be no reason to look for it.) You cannot search for
something with which you are unfamiliar or unacquainted. Those who are
“searching for truth” are under the deeply incorrect assumption that
when they “meet” with Truth, they will recognize it and will then end
their search! But that is not a reasonable belief. When one does not
know what Truth is, “finding” Truth becomes an impossible task.
What does it mean to “search” for an idea?
Where do you “look” for Truth(=God)? It is not a material object that
one can encounter. It does not occupy space. It cannot be met by an
appointment. None of our senses are able to sense it. How can we take
someone seriously when they say that they are “searching for Truth”?
One might as well be searching for the proverbial pot of gold at the end
of the rainbow.
Truth is NOT the object of discovery. Truth must
be revealed. It is NOT accessible to any human being.
Truth is
God, and God is beyond any human capability.
It is surprising
that even today, many capable men continue to live under the delusion
that Truth is something that can be aimed for, and eventually
discovered.
Most people are unaware that we are unable to distinguish between truth and falsehood. That is, we have neither
physical nor mental faculties that would help us to distinguish between truth and falsehood. We are easily deceived, and
the fact that mankind has seriously contemplated the notion that we are able to discover truth is testimony to man’s
limitless ability for self-deception.
This self-deception is especially prevalent in the sciences. Its tragic consequences cannot be overstated. For
hundreds of years scientists and philosophers have believed and disseminated the huge error that science
is able to discover truth. That it is self-correcting, and that it is able to eliminate errors and finally arrive at
truth.
The delusion is further compounded by the fact that it seems these scientists and philosophers, many of whom profess
to be Christians, have never asked themselves the questions:
How would we know that we are striving
after truth?
When can we know that we have arrived at
truth?
If we do Not know the destination, how can we even pretend to be marching
toward it?
If we do Not know what Truth is, how can we
know that we have discovered it?
If we
Do know what Truth is, why would we
continue to search for it?
The primary reason for this confusion is that these
thinkers do not know the correct definition of Truth, and are unaware
that they do not know what the word Truth means.
How can you search for something if you
do not know at all what it is? Which of the things that you do not
know will you take as your aim in your search?
Indeed, as
Meno notes, one would not even know that one had found it if one
came across it (80d6-9). One must know what the term signifies
before one can search for the nature of the thing […]
He
cannot search for what he knows because he already knows it (and
there is no need for him to search). Nor can he search for what he
does not know, since he does not know what he is searching for.
(80e205)
David Charles;
The Paradox in the Meno and Aristotle’s Attempts to Resolve It;
Definition in Greek Philosophy; David Charles; ed.; 2014; p115
