1. Communities as Sources of Truth and Falsehood
The previous essay discussed the essential role of truth in building
peaceful and just communities. Social cohesion among a large number of
people requires trustworthiness. If there is a general commitment among
members of a community to truth, those claiming to add to the general corpus
of knowledge can be trusted. Without this commitment, people will not trust
news sources, scientists (including medical scientists), and the courts. A
commitment to truth also fosters open discussion and debate, which can
expose misconceptions and bad ideas. While communities can help promote
truth by censuring those who lie, sometimes communities are impediments to
truth.
There is a human need for answers to existential questions, such as where I
am from, what am I supposed to do with my life, and what happens when I die.
A person can find it unsettling if these questions cannot be answered
definitely and with confidence. People are often attracted to communities
where people hold with certainty that particular answers are true. The
general consensus seems to add credence to answers that, otherwise, might
seem unfounded or unreasonable. However, to the degree that evidence for
these answers is lacking, there will be a tendency to resist, sometimes
violently, those who disagree. The greatest rath is often directed not at
infidels who have never considered the community’s beliefs but rather at
apostates who have once believed but now reject those beliefs.
Another way that communities can undermine truth relates to the scapegoating
process. Humans have a strong desire to belong to a group, and we can easily
see manifestations of tribalism along familial, cultural, ethnic, national,
and other lines. Central to tribalism is that there is something distinctive
about one’s group. This characteristic can be benign, such as a recognition
that one’s group is grounded in personal relationships and not in special
characteristics. However, the human desire to gain self-esteem encourages
group members to feel that they are superior to other groups. This sentiment
encourages falsehoods about the nature of members of one’s own group and
falsehoods about members of other groups.
We are seeing increased polarization in the United States and in many other
countries, and a natural outgrowth of polarization is an increasingly
widespread belief in falsehoods about one’s group as well as the opposing
group. What are the sources of polarization? What are the implications for
justice for human and nonhumans, as well as the viability of human
civilization? I will start to explore this next.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. From All-Creatures.Org Ministry
Have you heard of Buddy’s Law? Read about it in this week’s edition.
You will find this week's edition of our newsletter packed full of
information covering up-to-the-moment 2022 topics including GOOD news for
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information, art & stories, and so much more!
All-Creatures.org Newsletter, May 26, 2022
In the Love of the Lord,
Frank L Hoffman
All-Creatures.org
and
Kindness,
Tams Nicholson
Executive Directress
All-Creatures.org