A measure of how materialist our society has become: every textbook I have had to use that teaches critical thinking distinguishes only between fact and opinion, which they correlate to “objective” and “subjective.” as though this is the only issue. The message is that only facts are certainly true.
There are many truths that are subjective, not facts.
The first obvious example:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ll men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Facts are provable truths, objective truths. These truths are not provable, but self-evident. We know they are true.
Another truth, the most certain of all, is that God exist. This is not a fact, even if there are mathematical proofs; it is a truth. Indeed, none of the truths of mathematics are facts. Facts are only probvisionally true; the truths of mathematics are absolute.
Then there are moral truths. Murder is wrong. You should do unto others as you would have them do to you. Truth is better than lies. These are not facts; but they are certain.
Beauty is better than ugliness. Also unprovable, but self-evident.
And then there is the universe of emotional truths: that I love my wife, or my kids or country. These are truths, not opinions, although they will commonly appear in the texts wrongly as opinions. I can know with certainty that I love my wife, or my country.
Doesn’t this illustrate how limiting, how damaging, materialism is? It reduces us to lizards, zombies, or robots, without emotions, without conscience, and without meaning to our lives.
Welcome to hell.
'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.
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