Truth

This is not a book of philosophy, but rather philosophical history. It is an extremely fast survey of philosophical thought through the millennia of human history all around the world in a broad variety of cultures. Experts in any of the fields covered in this book will surely find their specialty too cursorily treated, but the point of the book is not the details of the points made. The issue here is how human beings have wrestled with the concept of Truth throughout history. Does it exist (it is not a modern question)? How can you tell what is True? How do you communicate it? I found the author's skillful demonstration that the seemingly modern focus on private meaning and internal construction to be the resurfacing of a very old issue. Proffesor Fernandez-Armesto points out that while no system ever devised can irrefutably demonstrate Truth to the satisfaction of everyone, no approach declaring the death of meaning has also been a self-contradictory system of faith. I am a believer in the validity of an independent external reality that can be sought and, in part, known. But whether known or not, it courses on its way with or without us. Its reality is not subjective or open to societal interpretation. Our interpretations of it are, but it can be demonstrated that some interpretations are better than others. Some can land rovers on Mars and others cannot.I think that this short book should be read by nearly everyone, whether you agree with its thesis or not, or the author's summaries or not. The sheer breadth of topics in only 229 pages can provide a wonderful introduction to further study.

We live in an spiritually blighted era when people don't know or care what the meaning of is is. The idea of any transcendant ideal has no value to society. Not only do people not care what truth is, they would not know what to do with it if they found it. This book is a remarkable examination of that modern failure of the soul and a thoughtful examination of how truth has been sought throughout history. The bulk of the book consists of a review of the four different methods of seeking the truth, from "gut feelings" to empirical evidence. The final chapter looks at how modern Western civilization has abandoned the quest for truth, falling prey to such lunacies as deconstructionism. Perhaps the most important point the author makes is that when a people has abandoned the search for the truth, they are easy prey for lies. We see this in Washington, in the media and in academia today. We ignore this trend at our peril. If we want to preserve our freedoms, we must become more attuned to the truth. Dr. Fernandez-Armesto's book is a good place to begin.

The author covers references from an amazing array of historical eras and, seemingly, from all parts of the globe with a written tradition. His categorization of the types of "truth" is brilliant. What's better, he knows how to write and avoids anything resembling a dull catalog of contrasting views. He is not afraid to voice opinions, unlike many other authors. Also, he is not afraid to attack some of the nihilistic tendencies of "modern scholarship." If you agree that these are simply empty posturings which are inherently self-negating (i.e., if nothing matters, why then bother discussing it), you will enjoy what he has to say. He does not come to an answer concerning "truth," in my opinon, but takes the reader on an always interesting search for it.

This book is a gem. It goes through a number of different senses in which truth has been understood or pursued over time, streesing the strengths, weaknesses and contradictions of each. While passionately involved in the theme, and clearly horrified by the nihilistic tendencies of Post-modernism, the weakest part of the book comes when the author tries to overcome such arguments and make a defense of "truth" in the more classical forms. The author has a marvellous facility with language, tells tales skillfully and revealingly and can often skewer pomposity with a telling turn of phrase. Thoroughly delightful!

Being the first book I have read by Fernandez-Armestro I cannot comment on it in relation to previous works, however, suffice to say that I was impressed not only by the literarily worthiness and depth of research but also by the courage to take on a topic of such obscurity. This `guide for the perplexed' is possibly one of the most probing books written this decade, no other book searches with such depth for truth itself. I thoroughly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in history, philosophy or ideology.