Truth vs. ‘Truthiness’

In an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld (February 1995), Jerry and George are sitting in a booth at Monk’s Cafe. Jerry asks George for advice about how to beat a lie detector test. Very seriously, George says, “Jerry, remember. It’s not a lie if you believe it.”

Ten years later, in the first episode of his political satire program, The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert introduced the term “truthiness” to describe the political conversations of the time. “Truthiness” sounds a lot like George’s advice to Jerry.

Merriam-Webster chose “truthiness” as the 2005 Word of the Year. The word is defined as “the belief in what you feel to be true rather than what the facts will support.”

A more detailed definition is “the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.”

“Truthiness” reminds me of two notes in my quote journal, the first of which I saw on a bumper sticker: “Don’t believe everything you think” and “To ignore the facts doesn’t change the facts.”

Almost 30 years after George gave Jerry advice and almost 20 years after Stephen Colbert introduced us to “truthiness,” once again we need to be vigilant and discerning about the difference between truth and truthiness. With our dependence on the internet and the increasing influence of artificial intelligence, it is especially important to examine the evidence and facts as we make important decisions in the upcoming election cycle, as we help to shape public policy, in our family lives, and in our community.

Two thousand years ago, when Jesus was on trial, he responded to Pontius Pilate’s question about his kingship by saying, “For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate then asked Jesus this important question, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38) In my Presbyterian tradition, one of the foundations of how we govern ourselves is “that truth is in order to goodness.”

In other words, the pursuit of truth must lead to beneficial actions. The reason is “that no opinion can either be more pernicious or more absurd than that which brings truth and falsehood upon a level, and represents it as of no consequence what a man’s opinions are.

On the contrary, we are persuaded that there is an inseparable connection between faith and action, truth and duty.” Or, as Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Thus you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:20)

The Four-Way Test of Rotary International is a good guideline for distinguishing between truth and truthiness, especially as evidenced by one’s actions.

The test is: (1) Is it the truth? (2) Is if fair to all concerned? (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships? and (4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned? In our ongoing efforts to build better communities, we need to seek the truth and beware of and be rid of “truthiness.”

Philip Gladden lives in Wallace. He can be reached at gladdenphilip620@gmail.com.