Ep 6: Does the Truth Set You Free?

it does, and it doesn’t

As species, humans evolved to be scientists. The pursuit of knowledge, of the truth, has been the ultimate goal and the purpose of the Human Project — think of it as an attempt of life on Earth to understand itself and the world. This is what I believe, this is the reason I write — to share the truth that I discovered in hope that it would help others to discover it too, for themselves. There could be no more noble goal, as far as I am concerned… so what’s the problem?

Well, as it turns out, not everyone wants to know the truth. Already in the 4th century BC, an Ancient Greek philosopher Plato was telling a Matrix-like story, the Allegory of The Cave. It tells of people imprisoned in a cave — and so accustomed they became to their life in there, they would scorn a chance to leave. Galileo Galilei, a Renaissance scientist, would write of his fellow academics refusing to look at the Moon and planets through a telescope… for the fear of what they might discover? In some modern studies of human behavior some respondents were even willing to admit that they don’t want to know the truth.

When I first learned about that particular research I felt perplexed. Knowing the truth is like having a map. You could see where you are and where you could go, so you can choose your destination. Having that choice is freedom — this is how the truth sets you free! So why in the world would anyone refuse to look at the map?

Well, for one thing, we are “designed” to crave a stable identity. We need to stay anchored to a firm idea of ourselves — of who we are, of our place in the world. Conversely, we become quite apprehensive of any information that would make us question our identity. This is probably the main reason why the truth could be so uncomfortable.

Another reason has something to do with truth itself, its darker side if you want. In one way truth gives us freedom, but in some other important way it takes it away.

These days we don’t hear this term often, but since Aristotle and through the Classic European Enlightenment philosophers used praise something they called “necessity”.¹ The concept itself describes a deterministic Universe — its evolution necessarily follows an already preset path, precluding any other outcome. The more we know about it — the more we see of the map — the fewer possibilities we could imagine. This lack of variety then limits our choices.

For example, when faced with uncertainty, one could choose to stay the course, hoping that things would somehow work out. Yet if they saw what was really going on, they would have to conclude that the outcome they hoped for was unattainable — meaning that staying the course would not be a viable option anymore.

This is how “necessity” takes away our freedom — by taking our hopes away. And that’s why we would not want to face the truth — because one must have hope in order to live. Literally.

Of course, one could argue — and many would — that if hopes are misplaced, then refusing to face the truth would only amount to the proverbial hiding of one’s head in the sand. To trying to wish reality away. This, at least, is how clinging to hope might look on the surface… but it’s not the whole story.

Consider this:

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.” — Henry Ford

This quote, along with so many other descriptions of the same idea, is about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude even in the face of adversity. It is about having hope or, if it comes to that, of having faith — because faith is what we are left with when we see no reason to hope. Or call it a hope against hope — except it is not as irrational as it sounds! For one thing, however certain we might feel about our circumstances, our knowledge is always limited. Maybe you heard this story about two little mice falling in a bucket of cream. One, seeing no way of getting out, gave up and drowned. The other kept swimming, until it managed to churn cream into butter.

This is often true about our understanding of the Reality. As we piece together its puzzle, the picture that appears will look rather grim at some point. Worse, it would also appear complete, creating an impression that this is all there is to know. This might be the reason why, quoting Ernest Hemingway, happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing one knows. And even if going through such a stage is not completely inevitable, we can tell simply by looking at history that this happens a lot.

Still, that is just a stage. If one perseveres and maintains a positive outlook — forcing it on themselves, faking it if needed — then there will come a day when more puzzle pieces will fall into place, revealing a brighter picture.

Which brings us to the next quote, this one by Albert Einstein:

‘Is this world a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question you should ask yourself — because the answer determines your life.

What this quote does not appear to describe, is the Universe as a cold, indifferent place, as a machine going through its motions oblivious to our dreams and aspirations. Instead, it paints it as an entity that can be influenced by our behavior and by our attitudes… as something intelligent even, if in the broadest meaning of the word.²

This presence — of some “cosmic intelligence”, so to speak — is something that many people sense.³ And we know for a fact that at least some small parts of the Universe’s machine — us, human individuals — are, in fact, intelligent. Then why not a certain larger fragment of the Universe, something big enough to give many of us that feeling of being a part of its consciousness?

Stay tuned!

¹ A German philosopher Hegel would actually define freedom as the recognition of necessity.

² Stephen Hawking once described intelligence as the ability to adapt to change.

³ Contrary, again, to what a partially assembled puzzle would show, a perfectly atheistic landscape! Laplace, a French mathematician at the turn of 19th century, summed it up neatly when he said, in reference to God, “I have no need for this hypothesis.” And this is exactly how I felt for the longest time.

Originally published at https://silkfire.substack.com.