Truth be Told
Matter of Facts
In an age of access to information, the standard of truth can be challenging. Truth is an unshaken compliance with reality or facts. The quality of truth diminishes as more information becomes readily available with the technology we have.
Doing your research, locating the reliable sources, is the chore necessary to discovering what is right. While we make the diligence effort of finding the truth, we have to be cautious of creating a confirmation bias.
High powered Confirmation Bias is when a person leans to only accepting references and findings to confirm their pre-existing beliefs. Confirmation bias leads to errors in the research since it influences the was people can gather and interpret information.
“Imagine, for example, that a person believes that left-handed people are more creative than right-handed people. Whenever this person encounters a creative and left-handed person, they impede greater importance as evidence that supports something they already believe.”
- Very Well Mind: Confirmation Bias
When having a bias, there is a blindspot that can hide the most authentic truths from ourselves.
Perceive
To have a perception of the truth is not reality; instead, someone’s opinion can become their reality. Understanding is an influence on how we view certain.
“Fact-checking is the process of verifying information in a non-fictional text to determine its veracity and correctness.”
- Fact Checking
Truth strengthens and is adaptive, where deceptions destroy and are self-defeating.
For William James, a pragmatic philosopher, the truth is ‘only the expedient in the way of our thinking, just as the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving. The Meaning of Truth
William James
Ignoring the Truth
Bliss of ignorance divides you and the truth. Freedom of truth will reveal an openness to be capable of offering options of choice. Whether you choose up or down, the ability to decide and experience the opportunity is freeing. To disregard any possibilities for the joy of not having to choose, promotes a concept of “eyes wide shut.” If we always claim to be naive, something obvious because of ignorance or preconceptions, it is similar to being blind to reality.
How can we become honest and accurate?
Discover truth — Be adventurous in finding the truth, do the research, do the work
Become aware of your assumptions — Facing our blindspots in pretending we already know the truth opens our thoughts to reality.
Understand others’ perspectives — You do not have to agree, but debate and discord safely or healthily require compassion to recognize the other sides for a complete viewpoint.
Fortitude — Once we know others point-of-view, we must have the persistence of consideration of opposing truths.
Acceptance — Recognize that there are different views and truths with different people.
Being true to yourself is the internal honesty for self-discovery. Finding the truth, fact-checking, and holding a broader view reveals a closeness to the reality of what is factually valid.
