Reflections on Truth and Lies
I should have had more coffee.
Just some thoughts percolating around in my noggin this morning (speaking of percolation, I should have had more coffee). They pertain to Donald Trump in particular, but they could pertain to just about any public figure. The claim is made by the left that Trump lies repeatedly. Those in the Trump camp dispute that. I don't hear lies from Trump so much as I hear different views on reality. Note, I am not in the Trump camp myself (a pox on all politicians, it is a field that tends to attract the worst), but don't think that I suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) either.
The following should be obvious to all, but apparently it is not:
It is not a lie if you think you are telling the truth.
It is a lie if you believe a statement to be untrue and your intent is to deceive.
These are commonplace events, but the proponents in either camp do not see anything but their own views as being correct:
Those finding a particular public person objectionable may claim that the person is a great liar.
Those finding a particular public person to their liking may claim that the person is a great truth teller.
It could be a lie told by others and then repeated as true, of course. It may be a truth as far as the teller is concerned, and some of the listeners. Others will believe it to be a truth.
There will be arguments for and against any interpretation that may be offered. Although some arguments may seem unsound to some, to others that will seem to be uttered with the wisdom of the omniscient one.
There may be no methods to adjudicate such disputes, since even science and jurisprudence are subject to differing views on where the evidence leads.
This, of course, is the skeptic's position.
Not all truths are held linguistically. Even animals act as if they hold certain things to be true in a very real sense.
Survival:
Without some truths being known reliably, we would probably not survive to adulthood.
Without some truths being known reliably, our species—any species—would quickly perish.
I am not sure where that leaves us or leads us.