Can literature “tell the truth” better than other Arts or Areas of Knowledge? Essay
International Baccalaureate
Theory of Knowledge
#5
Can literature “tell the truth” better than other Arts or Areas of Knowledge?
Even as children, people are on a never-ending quest for “the truth.” Anyone who has witnessed a toddler incessantly ask his mother “Why?” can attest to that. Writers, artists, and scientists all have methods of finding “truth” and telling it to others. While the standards for what truth can be vary between Areas of Knowledge, no Area of Knowledge is significantly more capable of telling the “truth” than another. Since each area is strictly a human enterprise, they all face difficulties created by human nature, which makes them all equally capable (or incapable) of telling the truth.
Before the effectiveness of different Areas of Knowledge in conveying truth can be evaluated, however, it is necessary to define truth, or rather, to clarify its nature. Typically, people rely on their senses, observations, and information taken from sources they believe to be reputable to learn of the truth. History has shown repeatedly, though, that “common sense,” authority, and consensus gentium are not always the most reliable methods of obtaining truth. For instance, from the 2nd century until the l6th century, people believed in the Ptolemaic system with the Earth as the center of the universe and all of the planets and stars revolving around it. The idea also corresponded well with people’s personal observations of the Earth as stable and the stars and planets as moving and was even supported by the Catholic Church. Today, however, we know (or at least, we think we know), that the Ptolemaic system is incorrect and that the Earth and other planets in our solar system revolve around the sun. What people thought to be true back then because of “obvious” reasons turned out to be false after all.
Can there ever be an absolute truth then? And if there is, is there any way for man to know it and to be certain that he knows? For the
Theory of Knowledge
#5
Can literature “tell the truth” better than other Arts or Areas of Knowledge?
Even as children, people are on a never-ending quest for “the truth.” Anyone who has witnessed a toddler incessantly ask his mother “Why?” can attest to that. Writers, artists, and scientists all have methods of finding “truth” and telling it to others. While the standards for what truth can be vary between Areas of Knowledge, no Area of Knowledge is significantly more capable of telling the “truth” than another. Since each area is strictly a human enterprise, they all face difficulties created by human nature, which makes them all equally capable (or incapable) of telling the truth.
Before the effectiveness of different Areas of Knowledge in conveying truth can be evaluated, however, it is necessary to define truth, or rather, to clarify its nature. Typically, people rely on their senses, observations, and information taken from sources they believe to be reputable to learn of the truth. History has shown repeatedly, though, that “common sense,” authority, and consensus gentium are not always the most reliable methods of obtaining truth. For instance, from the 2nd century until the l6th century, people believed in the Ptolemaic system with the Earth as the center of the universe and all of the planets and stars revolving around it. The idea also corresponded well with people’s personal observations of the Earth as stable and the stars and planets as moving and was even supported by the Catholic Church. Today, however, we know (or at least, we think we know), that the Ptolemaic system is incorrect and that the Earth and other planets in our solar system revolve around the sun. What people thought to be true back then because of “obvious” reasons turned out to be false after all.
Can there ever be an absolute truth then? And if there is, is there any way for man to know it and to be certain that he knows? For the
Bibliography: Farrell, Patrick. (2004). Portuguese Saudade and Other Emotions of Absence and Longing. Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar. Empirical Findings from the Romance Languages, ed. by Bert Peeters, Amsterdam and Philadelphia. Fitzgerald, F.S. (1925). The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Magee, B. (1998). The Story of Philosophy. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc. Peirce, C.S. (1868). Some Consequences of Four Incapacities. Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 2, 140-157.