Nietzsche Defining Truth Perhaps One

Nietzsche Defining Truth Perhaps one of the reasons it is so difficult to understand the obsession of Nietzsche and Plato with 'Truth' is that few people today believe in the existence of Truth with a capital 'T' that transcends time and subjective, personal impressions. We are exposed to so many different cultures and belief systems, and are encouraged to tolerate other points-of-view rather than assert our own definition of the Truth. We know how much our own perceptions of the truth can be influenced by the media and by advertising.

Of course, the "Allegory of the Cave" suggests that much of what we humans apprehend with our senses is false, unlike the pure world of truth that exists beyond the cave. But if we can be so easily tricked in the cave -- why should we be so certain of this pure, true world that transcends time at all? For Nietzsche, God was dead, and that was unalterably true.

Faith-based debates were polarized about the existence of God when he wrote, and he wrote in a largely Christian context, although he abhorred Christianity and wrote his philosophy in reaction against its precepts. But even many devout believers in America today state that we all worship the same God, and thus participate in the same 'truth' regardless of our affiliation.

Even atheists validate the feeling of believers and state that although science is factually true, the human mind and faith has its own truth that can emotionally and psychologically move mountains. In other words, there are different kinds of truths -- truths that can be proven with a scientific experiment and emotional truths that are subjective in nature (like true love and true friendship). Of course, some philosophers suggested that different types of truths have more solid truth claims.