The Ultimate Truth
Brianna Saccurato
Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell
Soc. 313:04-05: Fall 2012
September 16, 2012 The Ultimate Truth Truth by definition as according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true. But how as individuals do we know if something is true? Our knowledge of what is true in my opinion comes from multiple aspects. For example, by using the mind we rationalize and logically think out situations we observe through our senses to understand how, why and if something is true. But we don’t only use one of our senses to know if something is true we use all of them. We use the ability to see, taste, smell, touch, hear and apply it to our daily lives to test ideas to see if they are true. So basically we use the scientific method in our daily lives subconsciously without even realizing it. Personally I do not use tradition or religious beliefs as tools in seeking truth as individuals once did in the pre-modern European era because what may have been at one time seen as “true” may not be currently based on environment, circumstances, and situations. For example in pre-modern European times they relied somewhat on their senses but immensely on their Judea Christian beliefs because this is what they were told to be true by their hierarchy. Previous thought relied more on the whole rather than the individual; there really was no sense of “self” during this era. Currently Sociologist develop their ideas of valid knowledge of “what is” based on the ideas of religious believers, philosophers, historians, and scientist. Religious believers develop their ideas based upon faith, tradition, written scriptures and unexplained phenomena’s while Philosophers base it on abstract ideas and the unknown. Historians use both the ideas of religious believers and philosophers to develop their own truths in conjunction with more concrete evidence like artifacts, journals, etc. Scientist use the scientific method, which uses the
Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell
Soc. 313:04-05: Fall 2012
September 16, 2012 The Ultimate Truth Truth by definition as according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true. But how as individuals do we know if something is true? Our knowledge of what is true in my opinion comes from multiple aspects. For example, by using the mind we rationalize and logically think out situations we observe through our senses to understand how, why and if something is true. But we don’t only use one of our senses to know if something is true we use all of them. We use the ability to see, taste, smell, touch, hear and apply it to our daily lives to test ideas to see if they are true. So basically we use the scientific method in our daily lives subconsciously without even realizing it. Personally I do not use tradition or religious beliefs as tools in seeking truth as individuals once did in the pre-modern European era because what may have been at one time seen as “true” may not be currently based on environment, circumstances, and situations. For example in pre-modern European times they relied somewhat on their senses but immensely on their Judea Christian beliefs because this is what they were told to be true by their hierarchy. Previous thought relied more on the whole rather than the individual; there really was no sense of “self” during this era. Currently Sociologist develop their ideas of valid knowledge of “what is” based on the ideas of religious believers, philosophers, historians, and scientist. Religious believers develop their ideas based upon faith, tradition, written scriptures and unexplained phenomena’s while Philosophers base it on abstract ideas and the unknown. Historians use both the ideas of religious believers and philosophers to develop their own truths in conjunction with more concrete evidence like artifacts, journals, etc. Scientist use the scientific method, which uses the