Why Truth Matters Most

It is evident that we have some intuition of the meaning of truth, even if we cannot articulate it very well philosophically. Truth is something we may know, or fail to know, but it is not something we should manipulate according to our own desires, fears, whims, or hatreds. Winston Churchill quipped that, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." This barb underscores the value of truth to life.

Brushing away truth in the rush and tumble of life is somehow wrong - and we know it. If so, there must be another way of life that seeks, honours, and is willing to submit to truth, especially concerning matters of supreme consequence. This orientation requires a kind of courage - one of the classical virtues - since the truth may not be what we would prefer. It may make us uncomfortable. (It is revelatory that so many people today express approval by saying, "I'm comfortable with that," and disapproval by saying, "I'm not comfortable with that." Comfort is rather important when it comes to furniture and stereo headphones, but is utterly irrelevant when it comes to truth.)

Conversely, the pursuit of truth requires that one must shun sloth - one of the classical vices - since truth may be tucked under the surface of things and not easily ascertainable. Moreover, one should cultivate the virtue of studiousness instead of mere curiosity. Curiosity may be no more than lust for what one need not know (or should not know); and it may be driven by ulterior motives such as vanity, pride, or restlessness. Curiosity is not intrinsically good because it can lead to gossip, violations of privacy (snooping, voyeurism), and wasted intellectual time and effort - as represented by the content of any issue of People magazine. In other words, curiosity can be a vice, despite the fact that it is a principal passion (or lust) of contemporary Western culture.

Studiousness, on the other hand, earnestly inquires after what ought to be known in ways fitting the subject matter. Studiousness sniffs out its own areas of ignorance and pursues knowledge prudently, patiently, and humbly - not resting until what needs to be known has been pursued to its end. Thus, one labours to avoid both gullibility (holding too many false beliefs) and extreme skepticism (missing out on too many true beliefs).

- Douglas Groothuis, Why Truth Matters Most: An Apologetic for Truth-Seeking in Postmodern Times