Questioning Everything: The Path to Reasonable Truth

What is questioning? Can we and should we question everything? What does questioning eventually leads to in our lives?

Questioning is the intelligent ability of human beings to search, verify and confirm data and information in regards to anything and everything. Intelligent ability to question is what sets us apart from animals that live by instincts. It is the core component in any progressive human endeavours. Can we question? Of course we can question. Should we question everything? On the basis of obtaining reasonable truth, we should question everything. But in this area of questioning everything, limitations and restrictions have been placed by certain political powers and religions as a “no,” “no.” Why? The answers are very simple. It is to hide truths that can be damaging to certain parties and to create a sphere of exclusivity that allows impunity. In short, it is a pure abuse of power.

Truth: There is No Perfect Truth

There is no such thing as a perfect truth or gospel truth. Why? Any form of data or information will always have its weakness in terms of biasness. There is no such thing as an unbiased data or information. Let me give you a real example.

In reading the BBC article entitled: “Obituary: Indian guru Sai Baba” by Tanya Dutt, we learn that Sai Baba was considered as a “God-Man” who performed miracles. His millions of followers from different strata of society consolidated his unquestioned guru and “God-Man” status. Yet, NDTV.Com reports him as dying from “cardio-respiratory failure.” If he was a “God-Man” who performed miracles, death should never occur to him in the form of cardio-respiratory failure? In fact, he shouldn’t even be affected by any human sickness and malady. So judging from the reality of his death, one has to consider the “God-Man” attributions as bias information of overzealous followers. If it is not so, then the attribution of divinity should match with an ever living (physically) healthy Sai Baba.

Unquestioned Truth Is Not Worth Believing

There are many ways to define and describe truth. But in its fundamental nature, truth is supposed to be in accord with current facts and realities without any illogical falseness in it. How do we establish that any data, information or truth is in accord with current facts and realities without any illogical falseness in it? The answer is by verification through questioning.

Take for example, the current Syrian government’s policy to “shoot to kill” in managing protestors, how do you establish that such a policy is in force and that innocent protestors are being murdered. The most direct means would be for international reporters to witness and report in texts and pictures in real time. But we all know that at this material time the Syrian authorities have barred international reporters from entering and covering the events taking place in Syria. Since the Syrian authorities have actively decided to prevent any verification by third parties of the happenings there, their cover-up act itself indicates that such a policy is in place and innocent protestors are being murdered. The onus of prove that such an assumption is wrong is now on the Syrian authorities. If they have nothing to hide, then, all they to do are to allow international reporters to cover the events. If not, their continual cover-ups give weight to the assumptions of murders of protestors in Syria. These assumptions can then be taken as reasonable truths. Any data, information or “truth” that is not allowed to be questioned through cover-ups by draconian legislations, laws, policies or acts is not worth believing. Truth will allow itself to be questioned as it has nothing to hide.

Nature of Reasonable Truths

Thus, we can summarize that the nature of reasonable truths as being:

Always open to questioning. Its openness to questioning indicates its truthfulness and transparency.

Never an end in itself but rather considers it to be open for changes in the light of any new intrinsic and extrinsic evidences.

Concurring, complementing and matching with facts and realities without illogical contradictions.

Any human being who stops questioning is depriving themselves of one of the greatest human ability in intelligence that sets us apart from animals. Knowing this fact is what drives dictators and authoritarian governments to inculcate a culture of obedience rather than questioning. It is tragic fact that for the purpose of political powers, certain societies are educated not to question the ruling authorities in the name of certain religion on the pain of penalty, incarceration and death. Religion in such societies becomes a tool to suppress questioning. In such societies, there is a greater need for its citizens to question everything. A human being ceases to be human not when they die physically but rather the day they cease to use their intelligence to question. Questioning is the path to reasonable truths. Thus, we should never give up our right and ability to question.

NDTV.Com Information source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/for-sai-baba-devotees-a-sunday-of-sorrow-101144