In the field of pure science, Newton’s Laws of Motion in Physics are considered the archetypal ‘universal truths’. But it is quite unknown that these laws hold true only for velocities that are small in relation to that of light occurring in the macroscopic world. Philosophers such as Nancy Cartwright and Richard Giere who study the process of science have documented how the application of laws of pure science to the world is not a neat, axiomatic one but grounded in a rich scientific context. Thus although a naive picture of physics characterises it as universal, the fact is that the effectiveness of the pure sciences lies in the ability to recognise a rich set of contexts, to choose and then adapt the relevant techniques.
Hence, some of the so called absolute truths in the fields of mathematics and pure science are not completely devoid of context. But the role of context extends to many other areas of knowledge.
History is defined ‘as a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events’(3) . Historiography comes into relevance because the interpretations of historical events are conditioned by its cultural and personal context. Take the example of the Indian national struggle, the policies of satyagraha and non-violence professed by Mahatma Gandhiji would seem absurd to any person who is unaware of the context under which these decisions were taken. Gandhiji had initiated a perfect blend of the ideals of the radicals and the moderates which represented the historical context under which these policies have been created. Thus, context is vital in determining the truth behind any event of the past.
Religion too is dependent on context for attainment of truth. People resort to the religion that has practices that they believe will lead them to truth. People’s attitudes and beliefs are altered by the context of the religion that they follow, which is truth to them. For example, Hinduism follows the universal law of Karma. This states that the soul is eternal and it enters a body and the course of life of this body will be a result of the actions committed in the previous life. This concept is known as ‘reincarnation’. On the other hand, Abrhamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam follow that the soul only exists for one lifetime. This concept of ‘last judgement’ says that, “Immediately upon death each soul undergoes the particular judgment, and depending upon the state of the person's soul, goes to heaven, purgatory, or hell.”(4)As a result, in religion, context is all.
Another area of knowledge where truth is attained through context is art. My interpretation of Mona Lisa, by Da Vinci forms the perfect example. I cannot be blamed for considering it remarkable that a painting displaying an ordinary lady achieved such world wide acclaim. But a drastic change in my thought process took place when I started thinking in the context of an art historian. I understood that the painting’s true value lies with what information it can provide for the art historian such as the background that represents the place where Da Vinci stayed, her contradictory facial expressions, etc. Actually, I believe that there have been far more beautiful paintings created during the Renaissance, but when I analyzed the painting in the context of an art historian; I realized the vast difference between a painting which is simply nice to look at to a painting which imparts so much valuable information and demands constant research.
Now, that we have evaluated the role of context in various areas of knowledge, we can safely conclude that truth is largely context dependent. But the question arises, what do we actually mean by truth? I personally feel that Plato’s tripartite test sets an unrealistically high standard for truth, which being that for any belief to be true, it must be:
- Public
- Independent of all contexts and persons
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Eternal(5)
My area of interest is the 2nd point which states that truth is true when it is independent of context. This would lead to absurd results. For example, the statement, ‘The 258 bus goes to Agra’ is not true despite the fact that it does. This is because it is possible to conceive of contexts where it is not true such as the Agra in the U.S. Thus, for me, if any knowledge that is acquired is contextual, it is still the truth and I name it as ‘relative truth’. The truth independent of all contexts that philosophy defines is according to me an ‘absolute truth’. But all the scenarios which I have taken up so far have been relative truths. So does an ‘absolute truth’ actually exist?
Many believe that any contextual statement can be made context independent by mentioning its conditions explicitly. For example, the statement, “All Indians are Hindus” is context dependent but when I restate it as “The Agarwals living in Vasant Valley, Mumbai, India are Hindus”, it looks like an absolute truth. But I am not satisfied with such a theory because it is just a play of words. Moreover, the objects in the sentence are not absolute. The meaning of the sentence may be absolute but this is insignificant in the broader perspective. Thus, my ‘absolute truth’ primarily focuses on the objects and not the meaning of sentences.
After extensive research on the existence of absolute truth, the only definition of absolute truth that has satisfied me is the one given in the Upanishads(6). They state that the absolute truth is ‘atman’ or the self, which is hidden in every object of creation including man and is the microcosm, representing the macrocosm in each of us. The Katha Upanishad(7) states, “"Know the Self as ‘Lord of Chariot’, the body as ‘chariot’ itself, the ‘buddhi’ (brain) as ‘charioteer’, the mind as ‘reins’ and senses as ‘horses’”. This statement of the Katha Upanishad tries to convey that ‘self’ is the absolute truth. We fail to realize that the self is a silent partner in all our deeds and quests of knowledge. Its existence is not contextual. It has been rightly said in Isha Upanishad(8), The seeker prays to Brahman,’ The face of truth is hidden behind your golden lid. May you remove the lid so that I may see the Golden Truth!’ And when the request is granted and the splendour manifests Itself in him he, submerged in pure bliss, lets out these words, "In truth I am Him." This is the ultimate truth. The self is Lord himself, eternal and context independent.
I hope that I have been successful in showing that a contextual account of truth is not only convincing and logical but also leads to a development of a science of truth. It provides the missing half of the picture of truth that is not explicitly evident but is essential for a true truth! On the other hand, the existence of absolute truths in itself is a big question mark. As aforementioned, I could find convincing explanations on its existence only in the Hindu scriptures and have tried my best to do justice to what these scriptures have to convey.
(Word count (excluding title, this statement and whatever follows): 1600)
Source Citations and supplementary information
- Author of How to Get a 2:1 in Media Communication and Cultural Studies.
- In mathematical logic, the Peano axioms, also known as the Dedekind–Peano axioms or the Peano postulates, are a set of axioms for the natural numbers presented by the 19th century Italian mathematician Giuseppe Peano.
- Definition taken from Merrian-Webster.
- Definition taken from Wikipedia.
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Theory of Knowledge (2nd edition) by Nicholas Alchin.
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The Upanishads are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings of Vedanta. They do not belong to any particular period of Sanskrit literature: the oldest, such as the Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads, date to the late Brahmana period (around the middle of the first millennium BCE), while the latest were composed in the medieval and early modern period. The Upanishads realize monist ideas, some of which were hinted at in the earlier texts, and they have exerted an important influence on the rest of Hindu Philosophy.
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The Kaṭha Upanishad is one of the mukhya "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is a relatively late text of the Black Yajurveda, and propounds a dualistic philosophy. It figures as number 3 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. It consists of two chapters, each of which has three Vallis or sections. It has some passages in common with the Gita.
- The Isha Upanishad is significant amongst the Upanishads for its description of the nature of the supreme being (Ish). The Isha Upanishad is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total. The Upanishad appears in the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda, but is historically one of the latest of the principal (mukhya) Upanishads, dating approximately to Mauryan times.
Bibliography:
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Theory of Knowledge (2nd edition) by Nicholas Alchin.
- Explaining Science: a cognitive approach by Giere, R. N.
- How the Laws of Physics Lie by Cartwright, N
- Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture.
- Microsoft student with Encarta premium 2008.
Acknowledgement:
I would like to offer my sincerest thanks to Br. Rishi whose guidance and support helped me greatly in completing this TOK essay to my satisfaction. I am also grateful to Varun Bharadwaj as the discussions we had on various TOK issues proved extremely productive and helped me structure my essay in a better manner.
