Tuesday, April 29, 2008

"This I Believe" Meme: The Search for Truth


'There is no wisdom save in truth. Truth is everlasting, but our ideas about truth are changeable. Only a little of the first fruits of wisdom, only a few fragments of the boundless heights, breadths and depths of truth, have I been able to gather." -Martin Luther


Lisa Parisi has tagged me for the "This I Believe" Meme. Started by Barry Bachenheimer, this exercise is based on the National Public Radio "This I Believe" segment, where individuals share essays they have written that explain their life philosophies. In the present variation, participants are invited to examine their personal philosophy of education, then post their musings in a blog.

As Lisa remarked, this is not an easy task, nor one to be taken lightly. I decided to focus on the concept of "truth":


I believe that truth is not immutable, but capable of infinite variations.

I believe that the search for truth is a life journey, but one that begins at a young age, whether or not the nature of the journey is immediately apparent.

I believe that the purpose of education is two-fold: to supply the foundation objective truths which will help provide structure and stability for our students; and to foster the critical habits of thought and reflection which will enable them to continue their journey towards subjective truths long after they leave our tutelage.

This I believe.


I tag:


"Say not, I have found the truth, but rather, I have found a truth." -Kahlil Gibran


"naked truth" by B. Charles Johnson

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your Beliefs.
I wasn't quite sure what this one meant: "foundation objective truths" and was wondering if you could explain your thoughts.
Are there set, agreed-upon truths?
I know there is not set answer to my question but the phrase you used does beg the question.
I liked your reflective stance.
Kevin

diane said...

Kevin,

By "foundation objective truths" I meant "a truth that remains true everywhere" like rules of mathematics and physics. That is a standard definition.

I deviate from the standard when it comes to certain values, like loyalty and honesty. I acknowledge that they are NOT "independent of human thoughts and feelings" yet they would seem to me to be foundation truths essential to human decency.

But this is a very subjective meme, so I feel comfortable in stating my beliefs, however much they veer from conventional wisdom.

Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

What do you believe?

diane

Anonymous said...

I believe: our creative spirit is what drives us to explore new things, create new works and come to reflect on what we have sought to accomplish.
This stance is what drives me as a writer and as a teacher of young writers. In particular, I do believe that writing to learn is crucial to personal growth. (Although, as I write that out, I wonder about people with disabilities who may not be able to physically write -- maybe the right word is "compose") -- See? I am thinking as I write. Perfect example.
There's probably more to my beliefs but these are always on my mind, I think.
I appreciate you asking.
:)
Kevin