Compare and Contrast Imagination With Faith and Reason in the Pursuit of Truth

Imagination, Faith, And Reason

Truth is an intangible idea that people have tried to get a grasp on since the dawn of time. It is often hard to determine what is true and what is false and how to categorize the things that are seen and done. Part of the reason is that truth is potentially subjective and determined by the society in which the question of truth is asked. Artists in all media, whether it be painting or the literary arts, have tried to illustrate and explain how to find truth, all to varying degrees of success. As with most intangible ideas, people have tried to apply different means in order to explain this thing which is largely unexplainable. Usually, when confronted with such an issue, humans have traditionally tried to explain truth with their imaginations, their faith and their ability to reason.

Imagination is the human ability to create ideas and expand them, suing only the power of the mind. The person will use their mind in order to formulate what they ascertain to be truth. Sometimes truth or fallacy is indiscernible and the individual must look deeper, beyond the surface of an issue, in order to find the truth. Usually the truth in this context is not surface level, such as whether or not something is factual like a date or a name. This has far more to do with the deeper truths of human existence and how each person relates to this truth on an everyday level.

One of the most famous works regarding the concept of truth is the poem "Ode to a Grecian Urn" by poet John Keats. In "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Keats writes a poem detailing a piece of pottery that depicts an age gone by. On first reading, the piece is only about this vase and yet, there is a far deeper meaning to this artifact than initial impression would signify. The first lines seem to beg the vessel to reveal its answers to him and stating that nothing that exists now will equal what was when the urn was made. He asks this vase to explain to him not only its own truth, but the larger truth that is meant behind the symbolism of the piece. "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard / Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on" (11-12). These words show that the narrator of the poem is longing for something he knows he will never hear again. The next lines, on the surface are talking to the beings on the vase, saying that the man will never kiss the girl, but on a deeper level, the words "She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss, / For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!" (19-20). His final stanza reiterates the idea that this poem is more than a person appreciating a piece of ancient pottery. He writes, "When old age shall this generation waste, / Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe" (46-47). Truth, as it is known and understood by human beings is ethereal and will be understood by each generation differently. The final lines of the poem are particularly the most famous. Keats writes: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know" (49-50). Here, the imagination is making it clear that humanity decides what is truth and to the poet the ultimate thing that exemplifies truth is the concept of beauty -- also something that is intangible and ethereal.

Faith is the human belief in something that is larger and somehow more important than what can be understood by human beings in the normal world. Anything that science cannot easily explain is often attributed to faith. Truth, which cannot be easily understood with proof in the real world, would be something that would be attributed to this higher power. In The Bible, the first letter to the Corinthians by the disciple Peter explains the religious reasoning and explanation for truth. For those who believe completely in the Christian religion, there is only the truth that is explained by the word of their holy book. This is true for Christians, Jewish people, Muslims, Hindus, and practitioners of every other organized religion.

In the first letter to the Corinthians, Peter explains how the only truth that average human beings need to concern themselves with is the larger truth that is explored and explained by the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind and, according to his disciples, the prophet of earnest and sincerity. Nothing that is spoken by Jesus Christ or that is spoken on behalf of the savior of mankind is to in any way questioned by any of the members of mere humanity. Here, the concept of truth is far less fluid than the truth that is discussed by the artists and the truth of the imagination. In the epistle, Peter writes: "Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (5:8-5:9). Because Jesus Christ has sacrificed himself in order to save humanity, at least that is what the Christians believe.

It is because of this sacrifice that all the words that are spoken on his behalf must be believed as truth without any question whatsoever. Only in this way can the living beings hope to win the love of Jesus Christ. "Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth" (13:5-13:7). Again, the truth that is discussed is the one that is provided to the people through the word of God. There is no room for question in this realm of truth and those who would dare to question will never receive the joy that can be promised by acceptance.

Finally, the concept of truth is discussed in terms of the human ability to reason. In Jean Racine's play Phaedra, Greek mythology has been retold in terms of the Enlightenment period. In the story, Phaedra is in love with her stepson who does not love her in return and so she determines to have him destroyed. This woman has been unable to use reason and thus she cannot understand truth. Her love is all-consuming and prevents reason. The story of her love is not one of logic. When Phaedra learns that Hippolytus is in love with another, she becomes completely controlled by her emotion over her sense of reason. She tells Oenone, "Serve my madness, not my reason" (III.I.line 63). One of the Enlightenment principals is that the universe is fundamentally rational. Reason is the key to understanding the universe and it is through the application of reason that people can function properly (Hooper). In the case of Phaedra, she is fully aware that she is relinquishing her ability to reason in favor of over emotion.