Thank you for starting an interesting dialogue about truth. Plato believed that reasoning and truth are revealed using dialogue. The lawyer in me agrees. Dialogue gets us discussing ideals. Physical evidence such as writings and photographs are subject to manipulation, more so today than ever because of technology. The law in the United States has recognized this fact and requires authentication of documents and photographs that are used in court. While there are a few exceptions, it generally requires testimony of a witness to verify that the evidence is a fair representation of what they saw or said. It is even more important today than in the past, because of technology (think photoshop or google translator).

Dialogue helps us determine relative truth, which is subjective. So, for the sake of full disclosure: I like Plato because his writing makes sense to me and sparks my imagination. I read his works in English. Translated works and ancient documents are subject to spelling errors or incorrect translation.

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I see relative truth as the stepping stone to ultimate truth. I view the quest for ultimate truth as a journey not a destination. My road map for the time being is based on Plato’s Divided Line Analogy. from The Republic. Although I see it as a loop because once I apply my new knowledge or understanding I see the things around me in a different light.

So, how does the Divide Line Analogy work as a road map?

Basically, we live in a world that we use are senses to perceive. Initially we see shadows or reflections, as we become aware of them we focus on them. That sparks a thought and when we act on that thought and explore it we gain an understanding or knowledge.

What that looks life in real life.

For many years we would drive by the Jackson Homestead in Newton on the way to my parent’s house. It was always there in, just a building in the background (A in the below diagram). One day we stopped at the light in front of it, the sign actually caught my eye (B in the diagram below). My immediate thought is we should check this out some time. (C in the diagram below). A few weeks later we visited the Jackson Homestead. We learned that it was a stop in the underground railroad. This added to my understanding of social inequality and injustice (D in the diagram below). That leaves me with a new lens to view the world with and as a result I see different shadows and reflections lurking in the background (back to A on the diagram), that I can bring through the process on my journey for the ultimate truth.

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Will I discover the ultimate truth by exploring based on my relative truth?

Who knowns! If I do fabulous If I don’t that is fine too, because for me it is about the journey not the destination.