Truth and Senses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Truth and Senses - Essay ExampleWhen we get to find out the possibility of understanding the truth through our sensory organs, t here are both stumbling blocks we should be aware of. First, can we be absolutely certain that our sense organs will etern exclusivelyy endure us with objective and reliable information Second, can we be absolutely certain that all information the entire truth so to say, can be grasped by our sensory organsIt is patent that sensations can be inconsistent and contradictory and are as likely to come before one wide as they are to lead one towards the objective truth. Bertrand Russell provides a fine example of this in The problems of philosophy, when referring to a table he says,Although I believe that the table is really of the same color all over, the move that reflect shed light on look much brighter than the other(a) parts, and some parts look white because of reflected light it follows that if several people are looking at the table at the same moment, no 2 of them will see exactly the same distri only whenion of colors. (Russell, Bertrand 4)It would be pertinent to observe here that, had our senses accustomed us the objective truth, then the sensation of color would have been identical for everyone. To further illustrate this point, gain the example of sound. Our ears perceive certain wavelengths, which are interpreted by our brains as sound. There are ultrasonic and subsonic wavelengths that our ears cannot perceive. At the same time there exist creatures like bats which can comfortably perceive such wavelengths. Again, earthworms have no auditory perception at all. They pick up vibrations from their environment through their sensitive skin, and these vibrations help them navigate and find food. If we were earthworms we would argue that there is no such subject as soundA simple experiment can easily be arranged here to judge the correctness of senses. We can take two buckets full of water, one ice cold and the oth er hot and dip one hand in each of these. After a while, take a bucket full of lukewarm water, and dip both hands in it. The hand which was earlier lay in the hot water bucket will recover cold and the other will feel warm. It is apparent from this small experiment that even in a limited way, our sensory organs dont provide reliable data. There are other, more insidious ways of tricking the senses, drugs being one. Senses can also lead us astray under conditions of extreme emotional duress.Keeping the above in mind, we can argue that we cant always bank on our senses to provide us with correct and reliable information. Similarly there is causa to believe that our senses are often unable of providing us with complete information - so to say the firm truth.In recent years, scientists have discovered that 95% of the contents of the universe are hidden to our current methods of direct detection. Observable universe, which can be perceived by the senses comprises of 5% of the mass of the authentic universe. The rest is dark matter and dark energy. There exist realities that our senses cant perceiveThere is a hilarious, but thought provoking episode in the third book of Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. During a trial, one of the witnesses, a strange and difficult man called Prak is administered a drug to force him to tell the truth. Inadvertently or deliberately, the kernel administered to him is excessive. The journalist