THE TROUBLE WITH TRUTH

Abstract

Both within its own borders and in the rest of the world, especially the Middle East, the United States is facing a growing crisis precipitated largely by the increasingly violent clash of fundamentalist religions—both among themselves and with all brands of secularism. At the center of these conflicts is the philosophical concept of the Absolute Truth: the only thing about which there is virtually total agreement among the contending parties, that is to say, almost everyone agrees that there is an Absolute Truth about the way the world is and that they are in exclusive possession of it. For religious fundamentalists the Absolute Truth is their particular dogma and orthodoxy, while for Marxists it is atheistic materialism, and for Postmodernists the Absolute Truth is that there is no Absolute Truth. Needless to say, such beliefs leave virtually no room for negotiation or compromise, especially when the truth is seen as divinely ordained. Thus we find ourselves at a dangerous impasse with regard to politics and other modes of public discourse. How do we progress when everyone is right?