Truth is complicated…and it is complicated for many reasons. This panel will explore some of the inherent challenges in discerning the truth.
- One reason truth is complicated is that people use different methods to determine what is true. Each approach, with its particular strengths and weaknesses, offers a unique (but potentially flawed) perspective. Using multiple methods can help to triangulate truth.
- We try to base our theories on facts, but every theory goes beyond the facts - and where these theories go might be influenced by all kinds of factors.
- Because great art often strives to capture the complexity of truth in human life, interpreting literature, specifically the work of William Shakespeare, can help raise questions about meaning, evidence, and truth relevant to the current political situation in twenty-first century America.
- Truth is complicated because there are many different ways of making sense of changes in the world around us. A story from a village in Alaska shows how science, local traditions, and observations about wild berries combine to inform understanding and decisions about health and wellbeing.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/courtney_flint/149/
Moderator: Tim Slocum