Truth is the knowledge of reality. This is documented, by Plato, in the "Allegory of the Cave."

According to Plato, being in the light, outside of the cave, is reality. In his allegory, he equates ignorance with being chained in a dark cave subjected to what others want them to believe is reality. This is the case due to the propensity of men to do wrong, or evil, with their knowledge of reality. They take advantage of, and manipulate those who are ignorant and still inside the cave. Plato feels that the knowledge of reality alone does not make one a good person, for the sharpest knives cut the deepest.

Truth should not be solely relied upon by our senses. What we can smell, taste, see, hear, and touch sometimes isn't enough. There are those things that we can sense with any of our senses, and yet, we know they exist. Studies, such as science, has made that possible. The atom is something that we can neither see nor touch, and yet it not only exists and is real, but it is the core of what makes up our mass.

There is one very interesting theory regarding truth. It is called the "truth paradox." To paraphrase, it is simply: Sentence [L] is not true. Insert what you would like in sentence [L] as long as it is not true. If sentence [L] is not true, then therefore, it is true that it is not true. Hence, the paradox.

Confusing? Not if one thinks about this 'paradox' for a moment. By understanding the truth paradox, one is more capable of the knowledge of reality. It isn't simply important to know and understand the truth, but it is also imperative that one should know, understand, and avoid, when possible, what is not true. Embracing what is not true is comparable with one running back into the cave.

Copyright Jonelin (L.B. Jonni Taylor) ©1999

done