A Passion for Truth

"On the big issues it was not enough to be right--passion was vital. Now that sense of intellectual urgency has dissipated. Tolerance, relativism, the postmodern refusal to commit, the cultural triumph of uncertainty--all these rule out a repeat of the pyrotechnics in H3."

This is a quote from the end of the book Wittgenstein's Poker by David Edmonds & John Eidinow. It is "The story of a Ten-Minute Argument between two Great Philosophers." Although I won't recap the whole book here, suffice it to say I loved it.

But this quote at the end really grabbed my attention. "It wasn't enough to be right--passion was vital." Have we in Christendom lost that? Our passion? I guess your answer will depend on which church you go to. Or which clique you hang out with. But in America, I just don't see it. We want to be right. We know we are right. But where has the passion gone?

The two philosophers were Popper and Wittgenstein. Both were born around the turn of the last century. Both lived in Vienna, saw the rise of anti-Semitism, Hitler, and were Jewish. Wittgenstein believe that philosophy dealt with puzzles stemming from language. (I may be misunderstanding his overall philosophy, but this is what I got from the book.) There are no real problems left, just difficulties left over from our inability to fully articulate what we know.

Popper disagreed, stating that there are real, actual problems. His book The Open Society is credited with being instrumental in the downfall of the Soviet Bloc. His work dealt with the world as it was, and he caused real-world change through his teachings and his writings.

Both men were equally passionate about their beliefs: puzzles versus problems. (This is a gross simplification, though.) But, despite Popper's influence, it is Wittgenstein that seems to have had a greater impact on society at large. Whereas Popper countered specific problems, Wittgenstein dealt more with life in general.

From what I understood from the book, whether he intended it or not, Wittgenstein brought about this "culture of uncertainty." Who can know the mind of another? When I say yellow, and you think of yellow, are we really seeing the same color? Who is to say this is right for all people all the time? I just don't know if this is right or not. Each person should make up their own minds about certain issues. We don't have the right to enforce our morality on another person. To each his own. Its all relative. We need to tolerate one another's differences, and even celebrate them.

Yes, this sounds like the society I live in today. Tolerance. Relativism. Uncertainty. Refusal to commit.

So, back to the first sentence. 'Its not enough to be right--passion is vital.' Now, its reversed. Passion is everything, but the need to be right is gone, since we, as a society, no longer believe in larger Truths. Moral Absolutes have disappeared. With them, a solid foundation for relationships has gone by the wayside. Not just friendships have been affected, but marriages, the affluent vs the needy, cities fighting over water, customers suing major corporations hoping to score some easy cash, nations going to war with other nations, or fighting to control their own people. Much of this has happened because people no longer believe in an absolute right and wrong.

Galileo once proved that the earth is no longer the center of the universe. Scientists, and philosophers, have proven to us that we are an insignificant mistake in an uncaring universe, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." I love the imagery in The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

We have lost our center, and we can no longer hear our Falconer. So, we have made ourselves, each individual, the center of our own little pocket universe. The Bible asks if the mother can forget her own child. The answer, surprisingly, is yes. Read the daily headlines. You'll see it.

Looking at things on a cosmic scale, when galaxies collide, there is massive destruction, as stars swallow each other, planets are ripped apart, and black holes are formed. I know it is petty, but I long for the day when our individual realities collide with God's Reality. No more uncertainty. No more puzzles. No more problems.