Manipulation of Truth

The manipulation of truth is a philosophical matter, which can be dealt with using various intensities. During our class activity we observed that there are actually very few truths that can on the whole be seen as ‘objective truths’. Others have in some way, influenced everything we have learnt over time, including all the knowledge we’ve gained. Simple ideas such as ‘we need oxygen to survive’ or ‘I have lungs’ can be questioned to such an extent that it starts leaning more toward a subjective piece of knowledge. If such thoughts, which have been engrained in our minds, can be thought of as subjective truths, then what exactly IS an objective truth?

After listening to the various presentations and the arguments presented against each case, it seems as through ‘truths’ with the least amount of information are the most likely to be considered objective. For example, the most objective truth was that ‘An object (solid) at a given moment in time can be measured’. There are a lot of restrictions on this truth, therefore making most arguments unfeasible. Many arguments would be about the value of measurement, and that the shape of the object could change over time; however, with the restrictions these arguments no longer worked. Is it possible that a truth can only be objective if it is dissected to the very detail in order to avoid uncertainty? If this is true, then how can knowledge, which is a compiled number of ‘truths’, be considered reliable?

Due to the fact that most of what we know is subjective, and a projection of our own mind, perhaps an approach in that of 1984 is necessary. The numbers were told what was true and what was not, despite what their own knowledge was telling them. From a logical point of view, this seems the only solution to eliminating any error that might come into play, for it is only truths with numerous restrictions that are can be accepted. If forced to ignore what your own mind is telling you, knowledge is ridden of the ‘subjective’ error, due to the fact that objective truths are imposed upon the minds of humans. This illustrates the concept of ‘doublethink’, which I thought to be a very interesting concept in 1984. It requires very strong discipline of ones mind, but allows a society to be more unified in their thoughts.

The human mind is such an unreliable place of thought, especially because we ourselves don’t know very much about it or how it works. Subjective truths are impacted by each individual mind, for each person can see something differently or have a different experience when encountered with the same thing. Humans have very different ways of thinking, and who are we to say what is right and what is wrong? Maybe the idea of telling people what is right and forcing them to believe it is the only way to gain true reliable knowledge for a society, a seemingly efficient method in 1984.