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Originally posted by chinesecowboy
How do we know there is an "absolute" truth, where it's pure and unblinded from our experiences/biases,etc... ? To say it's out there means that you or someone has obtained, realized, or experienced it. Maybe the "absolute" is just something man created and hopes to achieve, but in the end, it's just another "truth" that contains the same biases of the individual. Does that make any sense? In another words, how can rational human beings, who think, calculate, judge, and draw conclusions based on knowledge and personal experiences ever go BEYOND themselves and operate differently? You can be more knowledged, spiritual, and aware, but can one surpass their own physical/psychological/biological conditioning and "see" and "experience" something un-cloaded by the mind? I use to be really into this stuff, until I took a hit of acid. Not trying to condone nor condemn drugs, but THAT experience made everything "clear" at least temporarily. And PLEASE, no one make a comment like "Oh, drugs are bad" or "You were on drugs so that experience was tainted by chemicals", etc... Stay on the topic, please. BTW, it's nice to get into these discussions again
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OK ... it is *my belief* that in all things there is an "absolute" truth ... whether I can perceive it or not. I can't prove it ... but that's my opinion.
In some small ways, though, this principle can be seen. For instance, take any 10 people and have them watch a video tape. The video tape is an "absolute" truth (in a very microcosmic way). No matter how many times it's played it will always show the exact same thing from the exact same perspective. But the 10 people who watch it will each remember different aspects of it more clearly and, over time, their memory will emphasize those aspects and if you asked those 10 people about the video in a couple of years, you would likely swear that they had watched 10 completely different videos. In fact, if you show them the original video in a couple of years, they may think it's been changed even if it hasn't. They will have filtered this "absolute." Each of them will have their own perspective of the "absolute" truth represented by the contents of the video ... and each person's truth is valid and, in context, completely accurate. But it still won't be exactly what's on the video. I would guess that 1 of those 10 would come relatively close to an objective retention of what he/she'd seen ... maybe. Depends on the group.
Mike