“Truth over tribe”

Trish Wood began expressing this phrase after the pushback she received from some podcast followers who disliked her partisan stance concerning the destruction of Gaza after the October 7 massacre.

GROK provides perspective.

To avoid sharing my personal views (and biases😛) on Gaza, I rely on my LLM buddy to answer the question:

🧶 What is truth? Is it absolute or relative?

🕵️‍♂️ Truth is the quality or state of being in accordance with reality, facts, or reason. It’s what corresponds to the actual state of affairs, independent of personal beliefs or perceptions. The question of whether truth is absolute or relative has been debated for centuries across philosophy, science, and culture. Below, I’ll break down both perspectives, their implications, and how critical thinking (from your earlier question) ties into this.

Absolute Truth

• Definition: Absolute truth is objective, universal, and unchanging, existing independently of human perception, culture, or context. It holds regardless of who observes it or when.

• Examples:

  • Mathematical truths: 2 + 2 = 4, always and everywhere.

  • Physical laws: Gravity accelerates objects at 9.8 m/s² on Earth, barring external factors.

  • Logical truths: A statement cannot be both true and false in the same sense (law of non-contradiction).

• Support:

  • Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle argued for objective truths grounded in reality or ideal forms.

  • Many scientific principles assume consistent, discoverable truths about the universe.

  • Absolute truth aligns with critical thinking’s emphasis on logic and evidence over subjective feelings.

• Challenges:

  • Absolute truths can be hard to verify in complex domains like morality or human experience.

  • Cognitive biases (e.g., confirmation bias) can make people mistakenly assume their perspective is universally true.

Relative Truth

• Definition: Relative truth depends on context, perspective, culture, or individual experience. What’s true for one person or group may not be for another.

• Examples:

  • Cultural norms: In some cultures, eye contact is respectful; in others, it’s rude.

  • Subjective experiences: “This food is delicious” depends on personal taste.

  • Moral relativism: Some argue ethical truths vary by society (e.g., attitudes toward capital punishment).

• Support:

  • Postmodern thinkers like Foucault or Derrida suggest truth is constructed through language, power, or social context.

  • Personal feelings and lived experiences shape how individuals perceive truth, especially in subjective domains.

  • Relativism accounts for diversity in human beliefs and practices across time and cultures.

• Challenges:

  • If all truth is relative, it risks undermining objective standards, making it hard to resolve disputes or establish facts.

  • Relativism can lead to paradoxes (e.g., if “all truth is relative” is true, is that statement itself relative?).

Critical Thinking and Truth

Critical thinking, as discussed earlier, leans toward seeking objective truth by prioritizing logic, evidence, and reason over personal feelings or biases. However, it acknowledges that:

• Feelings influence perception: Emotions can cloud judgment (e.g., confirmation bias reinforces “personal truths”), so critical thinkers strive to minimize this.

• Context matters: While absolute truths exist in logic or science, human experiences often involve relative truths shaped by perspective.

• Skepticism is key: Critical thinking involves questioning whether a claimed truth is absolute or relative, testing it against evidence.

Synthesis: Is Truth Absolute or Relative?

• Both coexist, depending on domain:

  • Absolute truths dominate in objective fields like mathematics, physics, or logic, where universal consistency holds.

  • Relative truths apply in subjective or socially constructed areas like aesthetics, morality, or cultural norms.

• Practical approach: Critical thinking helps navigate this by evaluating evidence and context. For example, a scientist might treat gravity as an absolute truth but recognize that “justice” varies by culture.

• Philosophical tension: Absolutists argue relativism erodes truth’s foundation, while relativists see absolutism as rigid and dismissive of human diversity.

Real-World Example

• Absolute: The Earth orbits the Sun, a fact verifiable by observation and unaffected by belief.

• Relative: Whether a painting is “beautiful” depends on individual taste or cultural standards.

Conclusion

Truth can be absolute in objective domains where evidence and logic reign, but relative in subjective or culturally dependent areas. Critical thinking helps distinguish between the two by grounding judgments in reason while recognizing the role of context and personal feelings.

Next, I asked GROK …

🧶 What is the sociological phenomenon known as ‘tribalism’?

🕵️‍♂️ Tribalism is a sociological phenomenon where individuals strongly identify with a specific group, often prioritizing group loyalty over broader societal interests.

It’s rooted in human psychology, fostering in-group solidarity through shared values, beliefs, or identities, while often viewing outsiders with suspicion or hostility.

This can manifest in various forms, like political polarization, cultural cliques, or ethnic divisions.

Tribalism can strengthen community bonds but also fuel conflict, stereotyping, or exclusion when groups compete for resources or status.

It’s driven by a need for belonging and security, amplified in modern contexts by social media echo chambers or ideological divides.

I detected more elements of tribalism in Trish’s podcast update on Gaza than I have come to expect from her. This was my perception, and does not necessarily reflect that of others, but it might explain why she has endured more criticism than she likes from some followers, past and present 🥺

Then I asked GROK

🧶 Is the existence of God an absolute or a relative truth?

For the sake of brevity, I have posted only the conclusion of a much longer discussion provided by GROK.

Conclusion

Whether God’s existence is an absolute or relative truth depends on one’s philosophical, cultural, or personal lens.

Theologically grounded arguments lean toward absolute truth, while skeptical or cultural perspectives favor relativism.

Critical thinking helps navigate this by questioning assumptions, weighing evidence, and managing emotional influences, but the question ultimately resists definitive resolution due to its metaphysical nature.

If you’d like me to explore specific arguments (e.g., Aquinas vs. Dawkins), check X for current discussions, or analyze related biases, let me know.