What is Truth?

I had the opportunity to see a performance of the musical “Wicked” yesterday and was struck by a couple quotes.

"Where I'm from, we believe in all sorts of things that aren't true... we call it history.”

“Truth is what we agree on” (this one may be not quite exact)

But it got me thinking about the concept of truth. Everyone thinks they know the truth of an issue. Or they feel there is only one way to look at the facts and that is the truth. When I talk about perceptions, I am really referring to how we interpret the events and information around us.

The show was an interesting idea of how the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz came to be. It also gave you a glimpse of what Paul Harvey may have referred to as “And now you know the rest of the story.” Did the wicked witch actually die or was it a hoax.

So do we really know the truth of any issue? Are facts really the truth?  I’ve always heard that you can make statistic say anything you want 85% of the time. How many times have you heard both sides of a political debate use the same data to tell a different story? I mean is the glass half full, half empty, or do I have too much glass?

I think we need to get away from trying to find out what is true and false but rather what are the views and concerns of an issue. By changing the conversation to views and concerns you change the entire complexion of the discussion. After all it is the views and concerns that need to be addressed.

As Max Planck said “A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” Just think about some of the “truths” of our history that we laugh at today. Who will be laughing at our truths in the future?