How does perspective shape or alter the truth?
Do different viewpoints provide insight into what is “true” and what is “false”? This question interests me because I often feel that the divide between the truth and a lie is a complete gray area. What may seem “true” to one may seem completely false to another. It often depends on the person. I feel people often “see” what they want to see, rather than what is standing right in front of them. Personally, I’ve witnessed perspective interfere with judgment of “the truth” in my own life; whether with friends, family, sports, or education.
As human beings, do we truly “see” the truth or do we simply engineer our own versions of it? How do we let our own experiences and judgments influence our understanding of the truth?
I read Atonement by Ian McEwan over the summer. This novel strongly connects to my “Big Question”. In a way, Briony creates her own truth. She lets her jealousy, her imagination, and her constant pursuit of attention dictate what she perceives to be “the truth”. She lets her emotions get in the way of her judgment and misperceives an encounter between her older sister, Cecilia, and the housekeeper’s son, Robbie. Her misinterpretation of “the truth” creates a mistake that changes the lives of many. In this case Briony’s perspective completely transforms the truth into a dramatic, over the top fabrication that one would expect to read in one of her childhood plays.
The motif of seeing/sight/blindness and its connection to truth is a big one in Oedipus--you should have fun blogging on that!
ReplyDeleteI like the phrasing of "engineer our own versions of it".