Happy exploring until next year

Well, it's been a year! Sometimes, it's been a bit difficult to keep writing or to even justify writing as things go nuts all around the world. 

But for me, exploring words is always an exploration of the world (and vice versa). When things are strange or scary, that exploration can provide a moment of respite, a moment of clarity (hopefully), and a moment of amazement at the incredible phenomenon that is communicating and making meaning with words. 

I'm taking a break for the next month, but until then happy exploring! 

Post-truth (part 2) - we need a metaphor for truth that fits

In part 1 of Post-truth, I explored the dominant metaphor for truth: humanity on a long journey to a destination.

We use metaphors all the time to talk and think about the world.¹ A familiar metaphor is conventional ideas as 'inside the box' and new ideas as 'thinking outside the box'. There is no actual box, but the metaphoric box conveys complex concepts about creativity and originality. 

A good metaphor helps us think about the world. A bad metaphor can be misleading. 

A 'journey' is not a very good metaphor for truth. It doesn't fit well. In fact, I think it is misleading and, among other things, it blinds humanity to the early signs of emerging dictators and power-mongers. 

In this post, I introduce a new metaphor and a new way of thinking about truth. My goal is to incorporate the numerous contests of ideas about truth, e.g. objective versus relative, humanity's need to know truth, the boundaries to 'knowing', and the place of 'untruth' in all its guises.

This post introduces and explains the 'fit' of my new metaphor. In subsequent posts, I will explain how I see it can accommodate these conflicting ideas about truth.² 

I'm exploring old ideas but trying to think outside the box. 

Armed only with a new metaphor.

TATKOP 129

There Are Two Kinds Of People: those who prefer convenience and those who prefer privacy.

See more in the TATKOP series.