Perception and Truth

Truth is difficult to define. There are scientific truths which can be proven. There are moral truths which require acceptance by the majority of people. And there are personal truths. These tend to be more beliefs. And it is in the area of personal truths that we see the use of perception. Maybe one good way to explain perception is to use an old saying: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." So, what you may see as beauty is not necessarily the same for me. That, basically, is perception. It is a personal point of view. One can look up meanings for "perception" in the dictionary and see that perception is an illusion and it is "intuitive." That does not make perception less true, but it becomes clouded by the person himself. In law, they often use the term "credibility."

Perception involves a person's background. If I was once mugged, every time I see a stranger walking behind me my perception is that I am about to be attacked again. Is that a truth? No. It is my intuition. Perception and truth vary with age. Children may believe the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus is real. Adults believe Satan is real. Are these truths? No they are beliefs. And those beliefs can change when real truths appear. When children grow up they realize there is no Santa Claus. It is a parent's right to create that wonder for Christmas. The tooth fairy is a reward for losing baby teeth. Satan is real to those who have strong beliefs that evil exists in a specific person.

Why do so many people use that phrase "Truth hurts"? Here is one possible answer: it is the perception of one individual about another person. "I think it's often said that the truth hurts, especially when revealing a truth to someone which is socially/publicly perceived as negative, i.e. ugly, fat, pimple-ish, etc." ("The truth hurts....really? para 1). Perception, then, has to do with one or more of the senses....smell, taste, touch, and so on. I found one interesting quote which really sums up the meaning of "perception": "the human being is essentially an "eye" (Helminski, para 8). Sometimes we see only what we want to see. Sometimes we see something we do not understand. Sometimes we see something we do not want to see. In all cases, what we see is perception .But perception is within us. Truth may not be exactly what we see. So sometimes perception is our belief and not the total or real truth. So, the real answer to the basic question is that perception can lead to some truths. Perception cannot always lead to the exact truth.

I think this may be a good example of perception and its relationship to truth: America's Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self evident..." Truth is plural here. More than one truth? Well, at that time it is not a truth that all men are created equal. There were slaves. And in the U.S. women could not even vote until 1920. The perception was that the American colonies wanted to be a democracy./ The truth was that many in the colonies were angry about having to pay taxes to England. Truth(s) were not self evident then. They are not self-evident now in many places around the world.

It is difficult, as was stated at the beginning, to really define "truth". Here is one example that works for me, though: "Truth is absolute. Perceptions of truth are relative. Therefore, facts, which are perceptions of truth, are relative. That is why truth is singular and perceptions plural" Maser, para. 3). Maser, as a scientist, goes on to claim that not even science is the final and total "truth": "A 'scientific fact' is therefore a fact only by consensus of the scientists, which means that a scientific fact or "truth" is only an approximation of what is. It represents our best understanding of reality at this moment and is constantly subject to change as we learn" (Maser para.4).

Maybe that should be the conclusion, at least for now: truths are changing and perceptions are changing right along with them. We change our perceptions as we grow older or wiser. We change as society changes. We can now perceive an African-American as President, when only a few decades ago, our President would have had to drink from a separate water fountain or go to a separate bathroom. Perceptions can hurt often because they are not really truths. That is the idea of "beauty in the eye of the beholder." So is truth.

References:

Helminski, Kabir: "Spiritual Perception and the Root

of the Root of Religion" accessed Nov. 13, 2009 on

www.sufism.org/society/articles/Spiritual%20Perception.htm

Maser, Chris: "Perception is 'Truth'" accessed Nov. 13, 2009 on

www.chrismaser.com/truth.

"The truth hurts....really?" Accessed Nov 13, 2009 on

watonearthrwedoin.blogspot.com/2009/08/truth-hurts-really.html