Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Question Time

I need to sleep, but I owe you a question. Compromise, I shall ask a question but not answer it. This isn't just in the name of unconsciousness, I also don't really have a good answer right now. Anyway, my question to you is two-fold. First, are truth and fact the same thing? And secondly, if not, why?

1 comment:

Frank said...

What an excellent question, Kenny. One that a philosopher might ask, which I suppose you are. I believe that truth and fact are not always the same thing, and as an example I would offer up Luke 15, the parables of the lost stuff.

What is the truth of Luke 15? That if something that is lost is precious, the person who lost it will go to great lengths to find it. That is absolute truth: people will go to great lengths to find precious things that are lost, and to illustrate this, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who lost a sheep, a woman who lost some loot and a father who lost a son.

But it is the shepherd, the woman and the dad who lead us to the facts. Were these real people or were they merely illustrative of all people who lose something precious? And if they were not real people and the facts are thus suspect, does this make the truth any less valid? I think not.

And now, Kenny, this question is making my brain hurt, so I will bid you a fond farewell. Nice job.