[Back to Particles, People and Purpose]

Introduction

Our basic framework (Particles, People and Purpose) divides all of reality into three parts: physical, social and spiritual. This enables us to talk about each part in a coherent and constructive way, because each one requires us to use different techniques and disciplines.

But while the laboratory and the law court search for the truth in very different ways, using techniques and disciplines which vary between the different areas, it is always a human activity, and the same basic principles apply whatever the specifics of the area under consideration.  In a way which is analogous to the framework, there are three distinct issues, which give rise to six key questions.  The three issues are: the abstract proposition, the human perspective and the practical priority.

Sometimes the search for truth is a purely academic activity (such as research into pure mathematics), but most of the time we are looking for truth to help us decide how to act, or to convince someone else to take or avoid a certain course of action.  Truth matters because the truth is what works in the real world.

So, one way or another, we are constantly searching for the truth. Is this safe to eat? Can I trust this promise? Is this vaccine effective? Can I trust this advice from the Government? We face the same basic questions in every area of our lives: what is true, how can I be sure it is true, and what does it mean for me?

We are story-telling animals; while we may sometimes search for ‘truth’ as an abstract thing, we always find it in a specific context, and we always understand it through some experience, told as a story. We know that one plus one equals two because we observe what happens when we take one apple and put it together with another apple; and we also observe that one pear plus one pear gives us two pears.

Truth about the world is truth as we find it – which is always in a specific context. So the same basic questions apply whenever we search for truth, whether we are seeking the truth about string theory, voting methods or free will.

The Three Issues

Proposition

Truth may be expressed as a proposition, but it is understood as a story.  A story may be fictional, and good fictional stories contain a kind of truth, but we are interested here in stories which claim to be true.  They present us with a challenge: is this claim valid?  Is the story actually true?  The most important strategy is the obvious one: to look for the evidence.  This gives us the two most basic questions.

• What is the story?
• What is the evidence?

These are always the basic questions, whatever we are seeking to understand - whether it is String Theory, voting methods or free will - if we are seeking to discover the truth.  We want to know and understand what is true; the story tells us not just the bare bones, but also the implications and consequences.

Perspective

Most of the time the search for truth is a undertaken as a social activity, and we have a reasonably clear reason for doing it, so we have to consider the question of perspective.  A story is not just a set of propositions: it is told by someone, for a specific reason and from a specific perspective; and it is told to someone, who will probably want to evaluate it - who will want to consider its relevance and plausibility.  This provides two more key questions.

1. What are the assumptions?
2. What are the alternatives?

Every story exists within a social context: even if it is a story about subatomic particles or mathematical theories, it is told to people who will have their own perspective, and their own reasons for wanting to understand and believe what is being said - or not.  So we must recognize the importance of understanding who is telling the story, and who is listening to it. 

Priority

Finally, if we want the story to motivate someone to action, it must be sufficiently important - to have a greater priority than the other things which could be done.  It also exists within a wider context, which helps us to understand the significance of the story.  This gives us two more key questions.

1. What is the context?
2. What is the significance?

There are often multiple contexts within which we can view  the story, each one of which will have its own significance.  They are all important if we wish to understand where the story fits into the world.  The story will have real world implications, but we need to understand the significance in order to decide what priority we should give to the story.

Summary

If we want to properly understand the truth, we need to understand three things, and ask six questions.

1. Proposition.  We need to clearly state the proposition which is being put forward.
   1. What is the story?  What are the details?  What are the implications? Is it coherent?  Do I understand it?  How does this story differ from the other stories people tell?
   2. What is the evidence?  What is the evidence for and against this story?  Are there other stories the evidence could support?  Is there other relevant evidence which should be considered?
2. Perspective.  A story is generally told from a specific perspective, and making a certain set of assumptions.
   1. What are the assumptions?  What direction are we viewing this story from?  Who is telling it, and why?  What does the story assume?
   2. What are the alternatives?  What other directions could we view the story from; what other assumptions are possible?  How do these alternatives change the story?
3. Priority.  The story exists in a wider context, alongside other stories, giving it a significance.
   1. What is the context?  What else do we need to understand to fully grasp this proposition?  What other stories do we need to understand, if we are to fully grasp the meaning of this one? Do they support, illuminate or undermine this story?  What range of contexts might it be relevant to?  How does changing the context change the proposition?
   2. What is the significance?  How important is this proposition when we look at the bigger picture?  Are all aspects of the story equally important?  What are the implications and consequences - all of them?  What other stories are related to this one, and in what way?  In what direction does cause and effect flow?  Does cause and effect only flow in just one direction, or do we need to take feedback into account?