Demented, Twisted and Beautiful

This is a question that has plagued me for years, and will most likely plague me for the rest of my life. It is an extremely important question and that is why it has not only plagued me for my life, but has plagued humans since the time of Socrates (and most likely before that without the written words to express it).

I think this question ultimately begins the shaping of one’s worldview, because it shows its ugly head in almost every application of philosophy or thought in everyone’s lives. For transparency, let me simplify and reword the question so that there is no room for confusion.

I am not asking if facts exist (kind of), of course facts exist. Trees leaves are green, gravity works towards the center of a large mass, World War 2 happened. These are all simple facts that can be proven with either science (experimentation) or eye witness accounts of events. I am referring to more abstract ideas in someone’s life. I am speaking about “truth” as an idea, as a perfect existence, something that is separate from the situations of life you find yourself in. Is there an idea of truth, an overarching correct answer to the existential questions that have tortured the human species since its beginning? Is there truly a correct answer to the question: What is the meaning of life? Is there a correct answer to the question: Is there a God? Is there a correct answer to the question: Is there a set of guidelines that I should be living my life by? All of these questions either have to be answered with TRUTH or answer with YOUR TRUTH.

The differentiation between TRUTH and YOUR TRUTH is exactly how I would describe this question of “Does absolute truth exist”.

I have been reading Plato’s Republic and this is something he touches on in his writings. Plato breaks it down in a very abstract way with his “World of Forms”. Plato describes a realm, for lack of a better word, where the perfect form of everything you see in this world exists. A perfect tree, a perfect car, a perfect man, a perfect woman, these all exist in Plato’s “World of Forms”. Plato would argue the goal of life is to work to that perfect version of “x” in our broken world, knowing you will never reach it (helpful, right?). This still leaves us with the same problem. Who defines what the “Perfect form” of “x” is, TRUTH? or YOUR TRUTH?

If I have misquoted or misrepresented Plato’s thoughts, bear with me I just began my study into his writings.

Lastly, I want to address another reason that this question is insanely important in my opinion. If there is no absolute truth, it completely changes my approach to looking for answers. When you decide that absolute truth does not exist, your process changes from “what is right?” to “what do I believe is right for me?” Which is a massive switch. I know what you’re thinking. “Jared, you will never know what absolute truth is, if there was true absolute truth than eventually everyone would search for it and find it and it would become fact” / “If absolute truth does exists, it exists as a abstract idea that can not be understood or achieved, cause if it was it would lose its power/Truth” (Much like understanding God).

And to that I say………….. You may be right.

But for some reason the idea that all truths that have been found are just peoples personal beliefs/ best guesses that others have latched on to, does not sit well with me. And hopefully one day it does, and if not I hope I get abducted by aliens, or smitten by God with a lightning bolt of knowledge or some shit, and they open my eyes to absolute truth.