The Origins of Truth

by Jason D. Peterson

A common proverb says, "Truth is in the eye of the beholder." In Science, Facts, and Feminism Ruth Hubbard puts forth the idea that truth has been created by primarily upper-class, white, European males, referred to as fact-maker s. Because of the history of false truths and factual falsehoods, I believe, instead, that truth arises from what society wants to see, hear, and know.

There are many examples of rather significant known truths now known to be wrong. For instance, the earth was once believed to be the center of the universe. When Galileo brought Copernicusí theory into the public view, he was put under house arr est. Galileo was telling people what we now know to be true, yet in the society of the early seventeenth century, what was thought to be truth was not correct. If the earth was not the center of the universe, it meant that society was incorrect, somethi ng society is not good at admitting.

One theory I believe is true (but is not true to most of society, and thus, not a fact) is that God created the world less than 8,000 years ago. Since only 34% of people in the world choose to believe that God created the world, this theory is de batable as a fact. Only a small fraction of that 34% choose to believe the earth is less than a few billion years old.

One so-called fact that is used to show that the earth is billions of years old was Piltdown man. Piltdown man is an apeís skull with a human jawbone. It was discovered in the 1960s in England. It was authenticated and mentioned in numerous biology books. In the early 90s, after the discoverer of Piltdown man had died, a professor at Cambridge released a 30-year-old report. The report described how the professor had made the skull out of plaster of paris and chemically treated it to appear million s of years old. The professor had intended for his rival professor to find the skull and make a fool of himself for claiming its origin. After the Cambridge professor saw how quickly everyone believed the skullís authenticity, he did not have the courag e to reveal the hoax.

Another source of misinformation upon which scientists base their studies is Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Darwin was not an accredited fact-maker. According to God and Country, a book of historical quotes, Darwin commented w hile on his deathbed that he was a foolish young scientist. Darwin claimed that he presented assumptions and queries he later realized were incorrect. One of his theories, Macroevolution, was taught in my high school as fact, even though it arose from a nonaccredited fact-maker who knew he was incorrect.

Earlier I said I believe God created the universe 8,000 years ago. According to society, this is not a fact. Society often makes facts from what it wants to see and hear. To paraphrase Steven J. Gould, a biology professor at Harvard, society does not believe in creation because that means there is a God. If there is a God, we are morally responsible. This is something society does not want to hear.

Ruth Hubbard wrote an essay concerning how society creates its facts. Hubbard referred to experimenting hypothesizes as "scientific mythmaking." Mythmakers have been creating truths so long that, as scientists, they can design experiments t hat result in what society wants to hear.

Society has repeatedly refused the truth and accepted pseudo-science as fact to uphold its belief that we are in control. While talking about societyís control in the movie Men In Black, Tommy Lee Jones says, "People are smart, but eve rybody together doesnít have a clue." This quote is another way of stating my point that truth is in the eye of the beholder. If the beholder is society, there would be many truths that exist only to maintain an acceptable mob mentality. As indivi duals, everyone needs to use their own eyes and determine, with a well-educated background, their own view of truth. The Origins of Truth

by Jason D. Peterson

A common proverb says, "Truth is in the eye of the beholder." In Science, Facts, and Feminism Ruth Hubbard puts forth the idea that truth has been created by primarily upper-class, white, European males, referred to as fact-maker s. Because of the history of false truths and factual falsehoods, I believe, instead, that truth arises from what society wants to see, hear, and know.

There are many examples of rather significant known truths now known to be wrong. For instance, the earth was once believed to be the center of the universe. When Galileo brought Copernicusí theory into the public view, he was put under house arr est. Galileo was telling people what we now know to be true, yet in the society of the early seventeenth century, what was thought to be truth was not correct. If the earth was not the center of the universe, it meant that society was incorrect, somethi ng society is not good at admitting.

One theory I believe is true (but is not true to most of society, and thus, not a fact) is that God created the world less than 8,000 years ago. Since only 34% of people in the world choose to believe that God created the world, this theory is de batable as a fact. Only a small fraction of that 34% choose to believe the earth is less than a few billion years old.

One so-called fact that is used to show that the earth is billions of years old was Piltdown man. Piltdown man is an apeís skull with a human jawbone. It was discovered in the 1960s in England. It was authenticated and mentioned in numerous biology books. In the early 90s, after the discoverer of Piltdown man had died, a professor at Cambridge released a 30-year-old report. The report described how the professor had made the skull out of plaster of paris and chemically treated it to appear million s of years old. The professor had intended for his rival professor to find the skull and make a fool of himself for claiming its origin. After the Cambridge professor saw how quickly everyone believed the skullís authenticity, he did not have the courag e to reveal the hoax.

Another source of misinformation upon which scientists base their studies is Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Darwin was not an accredited fact-maker. According to God and Country, a book of historical quotes, Darwin commented w hile on his deathbed that he was a foolish young scientist. Darwin claimed that he presented assumptions and queries he later realized were incorrect. One of his theories, Macroevolution, was taught in my high school as fact, even though it arose from a nonaccredited fact-maker who knew he was incorrect.

Earlier I said I believe God created the universe 8,000 years ago. According to society, this is not a fact. Society often makes facts from what it wants to see and hear. To paraphrase Steven J. Gould, a biology professor at Harvard, society does not believe in creation because that means there is a God. If there is a God, we are morally responsible. This is something society does not want to hear.

Ruth Hubbard wrote an essay concerning how society creates its facts. Hubbard referred to experimenting hypothesizes as "scientific mythmaking." Mythmakers have been creating truths so long that, as scientists, they can design experiments t hat result in what society wants to hear.

Society has repeatedly refused the truth and accepted pseudo-science as fact to uphold its belief that we are in control. While talking about societyís control in the movie Men In Black, Tommy Lee Jones says, "People are smart, but eve rybody together doesnít have a clue." This quote is another way of stating my point that truth is in the eye of the beholder. If the beholder is society, there would be many truths that exist only to maintain an acceptable mob mentality. As individuals, everyone needs to use their own eyes and determine, with a well-educated background, their own view of truth.