Reasoning Alone to Find Truth
Truth is often the “X” that is hunted in the equation of life. Interestingly, common sense and following sound reasoning is the simple formula where truth is usually discovered. Einstein made a profound statement to a reporter regarding his findings on his truth search. “As a boy of twelve, I was thrilled to see that it was possible to find out truth by reasoning alone, without the help of any outside experience.”
To me, this is one of the most profound statements I’ve come across in recent memory as we place Einstein’s logic in the context of our current muddled universe of media, politics, and indebted loyalties. Few leaders today have the capacity to “reason alone.” Truth to many is subjugated imperfectly by exactly that of “outside experience” of debt holders and influencers. The opposite of reasoning alone in search of good judgment and outcomes is where we find ourselves today.
We see it at the coffee shop as one friend wrongly assumes that the other three think his hero is their hero. We see national politicians so desirous of being reelected that they have lost the ability to “reason alone” in search of their own truth. If “X” equals truth, they have no route back to a formula to find it, as they overly invite “the help of outside experience.” So many have lost the capacity to find their way to a good result without the help of one or two biased influencers found in their living rooms each night on cable TV. A cult-like bias has replaced objectivity.
Overcoming Outside Influences
There will always be outside noise that seeks to distract. Mandela faced it at a heavy cost, but knew he had to stay focused without compromise until he was finally released from prison after 27 years if he was to change the world. Galileo somehow stayed focused when under immense pressures from the most powerful institution in the world at the time – the Catholic Church. But he kept writing and solving, refusing to respond to Grassi’s attacks, which were flawed and saturated with impure motives, and were mere attempts to please the church. As he “reasoned alone”, he made discoveries that impact us four centuries later. A great lesson for each of us to stay focused in our private lives.
Under the encouragement of Pope Urban, Galileo quietly stayed focused on his findings. He knew the earth rotated around the sun, and he quietly set out to prove it. This led to his arrest, but his truth finding had quietly found the support of the head of the church.
Galileo’s predicament was both a political and social battle that would have been seen on all major networks of the time. But if there was cable TV in Galileo’s day, I doubt we would have seen him at the podium. He had found out centuries earlier what Einstein would talk about later. “It was possible to find out truth, by reasoning alone, without the help of any outside experience.” Wow! This is a gripping reality and a lifestyle aspiration to target!
Applying the Truth Formula in Daily Life
If our loyalty is to truth over being in a club or a tribe, we won’t have to be concerned with our personal ideals being subverted, only to find out that we now support a corrupted belief system. Since there are good values and evil values, ideals based on character and integrity, and those that aren’t, we need to constantly adjust our focus. If our team changes colors, and experiences marked drift, perhaps we need to remain in our room as the 12-year-old Einstein did and seek truth as we “reason alone, without the help of any outside experience.” A truth formula that’s starting to sink in.
I like the sound of that!
