Mayeda1

KellyMayeda
Miller
APEnglishLanguageandCompositionPeriod2
20April2015
TheTruthBehindTruth
Truthisbeliefintherealitiesofwhatisbeingexpressedtobetrue.Itisnotexclusively
factualevidence,itisalsotheperceptionofthesubjectofscrutiny.Factualevidenceand
perceptionarenotmutuallyexclusiveintruth,however.Atruthcanbeundeniablefact,andalso
capturetheemotionandimpressionthesubjectlefttheoppositecanalsobetrueatruthis
capableofonlypossessingoneofthesecharacteristics,andthisbynomeansinsinuatesthatthis
truthisanylesstruerthananothertruthwithbothcharacteristics.
Duetothefactthattruthcansimplybeaperceivedemotionevokedfromthesubject,
truthissubjective.Forexample,Billcandescribearollercoasterasbeinganauseating,blood
curdlingordeal,andforBillthiswouldbetrue.Ontheotherhand,thisdescriptionofthesame
rollercoasterwouldnotbetruthforSteven,whofeltthattherollercoasterwasastale,mediocre
wasteoftime,andthisforStevenwouldbethetruth.Neitherpersoniswrong,neitherisaliar,
neitherisskewingtherealityoftherollercoaster'strip.Theybotharemerelyexpressingwhat
theyperceived,whichcanandmostcommonlywilldifferfromindividualtoindividualwhileno
hardevidencecanbacktheirclaims,theirdescriptionsarestillconsideredtruth,becausetothem,
thatisthetruthofthematter.
Onaccountoftruthalsocontainingirrefutablefacts,truthisobjective.Onecansaythat
womenreceivedtherighttovoteinAugustof1920,andthiswouldbetrue.Itis

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welldocumentedinthe
Constitution
,astheNineteenthAmendment,andalsorecordsof
openlyfemaleregisteredvoterscanseeastartduringtheyearof1920.Withsuchconcrete
evidencetobacktheclaim,itisacceptedastruth.Therefore,eventhoughthereisalackof
emotionalcontent,theclaimisstillconsideredtobetruth.
OnedaywhenIwastenyearsold,Iwasplayingonthecomputerinmydadsoffice
whenthebulkytelevisionthatsitssuspendedonastandcollapsedandfellontopofme.
Luckily,itonlyhitmyheadthenrolledoffmybackinsteadofcrushingmestraightdownwards.
Afteraroundthreeminutes,myunclesgirlfriendwalkedintoseeifIhaddroppedsomething
heavyorhadfallen.Inshock,Ihadnotmovedfromthesamepositionthetelevisionhadhitme
at,soitstilllookedlikeIwasplayingonthecomputer.Shemustnothaveseenthetelevision
shatteredonthegroundbecauseshesimplyaskedifIwasokaytowhichIrespondedwithan,
Imokay,andshethenwalkedbackout.ThefactofthematterwasthatIwasphysically
okay.Myheadwasbleeding,Iwouldendupwithafewbruises,butnohospitalizationwas
necessary.Inthisway,Iwastellingthetruth.Also,however,IwasnotokayIwasreally
shakenupaboutgettinghitbyasupposedtobesturdytelevision,andIstartedcryingaftershe
left,onaccountthatIwastenandmymomdidntwalkintotheroomuntiltenminuteslater.
Whentellingmyfriends,IdramaticizedtheentireeventtomatchthetraumathatIhadfelt,and
inthiswayIwastellingthemthetruthaswell,althoughitcontradictswhatIhadtoldmyuncles
girlfriend.Botharecorrectinterpretationsoftruth,onlydifferentduetoperception.
Truthissubjective.Truthisobjective.Truthisacomplexitythatcarriessuchstrong
varietythatevenitsdefinitionfindsvarianceforeachperson.Ifindthattruthisdefinedby
emotion
and
evidencebecauseofthediversityofthesubjectofscrutiny.Thetruthbehinda

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personalreactionisbetterexpressedthroughthedescriptionofitseffectsontheperson,whilea
questiononhistoricalcontentisbettersuitedbytheuseoffactualevidence.Thedefinitionof
whatistruthshouldthusbeflexibleinitsapplicationandbeusedwithdiscretiontothesituation.
Truthsdefinitionneednotbeappliedtoeverythinglifecontainsconstantlyitisnota
necessityforafilterofauthenticitytousedtosiftthroughthenittygrittydetailsofhuman
existence.Noteverylittlethingmustbecheckedforitsaccuracy,norshouldtoomuch
significancebegiventoitsdegreeoftrueness.Itshouldnotmatterhowtrueonesexperiences
are,itshouldmattermoresoaboutitsacceptance.Thisisnottosaythatfactcheckingisfutile,
butonlythatitisnotnecessaryforallthings.Seekingtruthinlifeneednotbetheultimate
attainmentofselfactualization.Truthisnotallencompassingandpermanentlyconsideredso.
Formanycharacteristicsandsubjectsinlife,thetruenesscaneasilybedebatedandveryrarely
willbeunanimouslyagreeduponbyagroupofmany.Insteadofchasingtruthinlife,anotion
thattrulyislikeahamsterchasingatreatinfrontofitsrunningwheel,truthsinlifeshouldbe
takenwithagrainofsalt,andnottooseriouslyitisaprestigiousambitiontopursuealifelined
withtruth,asitisvirtuallyimpossibletoachieve.Theinterpretationofwhatistrueandwhatis
falseistoofickleameasure,whilelifeistooshort,andtimetoofast.