Universal+Truths

This topic isn’t so much about __As I Lay Dying__ as it is about Faulkner’s speech. I’m not sure if it fits in this forum, but I didn’t know where else to put it!

Much of Faulkner’s speech is about universal truths and ideals that should be put into writing. Faulkner even lists a few like love, honor, sacrifice, compassion, pity and pride. Throughout high school I have been taught that there are universal truths and so I had no problems accepting that ideas like these are universal. However, in class today Br. Tom said that some modern philosophers are question whether there is such a thing as a universal truth. It got me thinking (oh no! not thinking!). Maybe there aren’t universal truths. But I tried to think of situations or cultures where truths like love or sacrifice wouldn’t be compatible, and I couldn’t think of any. Maybe the idea of universal truth has been so ingrained I cannot accept alternatives, but I don’t know. Does anyone have any thoughts on this notion? Are there such things as universal truths? 1203997056

This is a subject we spend a lot of time talking about in religion classes. The matter of universal truths is deeply seeded in our faith lives. When people believe that universal truths don't exist, concepts such as moral relativism come up. We were actually discussing this subject in history the other day because we were covering the British takeover of India. When the British saw the Hindu practice of sati (where the wife throws her body onto her husband's funeral pyre, as there clearly is no more reason to live), they were horrified and used it as justification for culturing the natives. Half the class said that the British had no right to interfere with the culture, and the other half said that the sanctity of human life is universal and it was proper justification. I think that our faith tells us that universal truths do in fact exist, and that we can't believe that it's up to the individual.1203997753

I think that what Faulkner is saying about the nature of universal truths is that they are going to win out eventually. I think part of the connection between __As I lay Dying__ and his speech was that in the novel he shows how bad we can be as a race, and all of the selfishness, and greed that can exist, but he also shows us glimpses of these "truths" bravery, compassion, sacrifice, ect... and that he believes that these will prevail. I think that is the idea of universal truths, whether they exist or not is that they are absolute and that no matter the circumstance they will prevail in the end. 1204000852

Yes, I think there are universal truths. They are part of what makes us human. In every culture on the planet, you will see elements of love, pity, pride, honor, compassion, and sacrifice. From a purely darwinistic standpoint, it is these elements of humanity that has helped us survive. Those who could love, probably found better mates and raised children more effectively. Those who could sacrifice, could see when others needed them more than they did. They could prioritize for the greater good of the population. Simply put, the humans who did not share some or any of these universal truths or archetypes with the rest of humanity, died. So yes, humans all over the world no matter how distant their cultures might seem, share certain universal truths.1204045001

universal truths are simply those things everyone believes in or would acknowlegde are there or are in existance in some form or other. love is a good example because the idea of love exists in every culture. we havent proved that love is an actual thing or an actual chemical or a result of hormones in the body, we dont know what it is but it is there for sure. the idea of a universal truth comes from human experiences. as mko said distant cultures share the same universal truths. but those cultures didnt pick up those universal truths from each other, they got it from somewhere, but where is the source. i guess what im saying is if it cant be proven is it not true, if the source cant be found is it something in nonexistance then? i think universal truths are what they are because we all know what they are but we cant explain them. user:JTu-c --- This is a complex issue. Even though there are truths that extend from one religion to the next, I believe that a person's incentive is what matters. I am not saying that Hitler was a good person and that what he did was o.k. by any means, but I am saying that I believe people are inherently good. It is very difficult for me to see any issue as black and white. People are so different and all we know is the person that we are in the culture and place that we exist in. Again, I am not saying that anything goes, but I am saying that ideas are relative based on every factor in a person's life. I know that God longs for us to have the universal truths of life and love and everything that is good, but because of our free will and human influence on each other we have not accepted these truths yet. My biggest problem with saying that nothing is relative is it is very conceited. We don't have all the answers, so then why do we pretend like we do? Of course we should work for what is right, but not condemn others or step up on our moral pedestals competing to be the best and have all the answers. Love. Love. Love. 1204063834

Love. Love. Love. is a great example of the ideal universal truth. I think this is the one that can be understood by all to be the most universal truth. It is hard to argue that all humans don’t love and desire to be loved. Even those in different cultures show their love and affection in some way. NVa brought up the Hindu practice of sati. Even this has an element of love in it. For our culture this seems ridiculous because women aren’t nearly as codependent on their husbands as in that culture. However, love is still present, as it is in any place in the world. So obviously the need for love is present and relationships are a natural thing anywhere. What is interesting to think about is the other form of love. One neighbor to another, or loving your enemy. This concept of love has in no way been universally accepted. For this reason I understand how Br Tom brought up that philosophers say there may not be any universal truths. If love isn’t even understood by all, then I don’t know what other things may be. 1204067770

I'm not sure if it isn't so much that love is not a universal truth, so much as that we all interpret each universal truth differently. For some people, pride might be fighting for your country, for others it is about peace. As kec mentioned, love is present in sati, though for us this seems barbaric. I don't doubt the existence of universal truths, I just wonder at our own varying interpretations of them --- even more so with different cultural interpretations. If we look at //As I Lay Dying//, many of the characters had pride, pity, love, etc. but they each expressed these 'truths' in different ways. Cora's pity called her to help the family, but her pride caused her to reprimand them. Anse's pride wouldn't allow him to accept help. Maybe the different characters aren't operating on different moralities but rather on just different interpretations of the same universal truths. 1204072441

In my life, universal truths have some elements of what everyone else has said. First, universal truths need not be believed in, accepted by, or acknowledged by everyone. For example, the sanctity of life (including the unborn) is a universal truth, whether half the country recognizes that or not. Another example- the founding fathers. Knowing they would be opposed strongly by all of England, they chose to insert: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal" into the Declaration of Independance. If everyone had to agree, there would be no universal truths. Universal means that it applies to everyone, not that everyone agrees upon it. The example Nick brought up is good for this discussion. Just because the Indian people didn't know any better didn't mean that the sanctity of life is not a universal truth. Personally, things like love, pride, honesty and the rest aren't universal truths per se, because it doesn't say anything about their relationship in our lives. In other words, love isn't a universal truth because it doesn't describe its relationship in our lives. God's existence would be an example of a universal truth because it isn't just an idea or an action, it is a reality that applies to and effects everyone, whether they recognize it or not. And of course we don't have all the answers, we won't until Judgment Day, but we do have the answers to some things, which are universal truths. As to Faulkner's idea of universal truths, I think he is taking the wrong approach. He says that we must focus on these qualities of honesty and bravery and the like and to not focus on the issues of the world. I believe he is only half right. We must show these great qualities for the purpose of changing our world. Thomas Merton once said that "People think the issues of the world are just a distraction. They are not." Yes, those qualities will prevail, but only if we use them to solve the world's problems, which is my problem with his argument. Yes, we should get back to writing about love, honesty and bravery, but realize that those qualities must be applied to our present world. user:PSp-c

Universal truths definitely exist: things like love, honesty, and sacrifice are respected and adhered to in all cultures; however, the number of these universal truths is often overstated. The more specific a truth is or the longer the list of universal truths one creates, the less likely that the truths being made are universal. It is when this list is made so narrow and biased towards a certain culture that words and phrases like "moral relativism" and "cultural discrimination" begin to spring up. I wholeheartedly agree that there are universal truths; however, I think that the issue is less of whether they exist and more of which ones are they. For me, this is my list of universal truths: honesty, because all cultures are built on honest exchange of goods and information; love, because all cultures have a notion of marriage and human bonds; selfless sacrafice, because giving up ones comfort for another is always smiled upon. These are my three major universal truths: I'm not saying that there aren't more, but I am saying that there aren't many more. These also are just the postive ones: in Faulkner's speech, he mentions truths of humanity, as in truths that are true of the human spirit, not of different cultures. These are the basic human functions like happiness, sadness, love, ect; they all are not postive, they are just true of all humans. I'm just curious to know: what does everybody else think about either the universal truths or the truths of humanity? 1204082750

Well, I'm pretty staunchly supporting the idea that there are universal truths, and that books with them when used properly carry a good slice of human life on display (I might disagree that lacking universal truths ruins a book) Love and friendship are about the easiest to spot, and so are their antithesis: savagery, brutality, cruelty, etc. are perceived as bad. It's something to do with the human psyche that's engrained with a conscience, universal throughout all cultures. Different cultures might interpret these values differently (In Islam, love can be manifest as love for God, which can be manifest as doing his work, which can be manifest as fighting infidels, which can be manifest as violent actions. In Hinduism disregard for worldly possessions might lead to suti, what we would perceive as suicide. Honor in Japan and courage could lead one to also commit suicide rather than lose and be disgraced.) So there are extremes, and different perceptions of some values, and sometimes, one value might be turned around on another in appearance, but there's the same stuff in there. That's why you've got people like the Sikhs and the Dalai Lama saying that all religions have some truth in them, cuz really, there seems to be an underlying morality beneath a lot of this. Does it make a good book? I think so, hearing the valour of human life and strife, but it's not necessary for a good read, I think. 1204087884

I completely agree with the idea of Universal Truths. I loved Faulkner's speech and agreed with many of his ideas. However, it is hard for me to come to a definite conclusion on whether a good novel or poem or any written work needs these universal truths in them, or any type of morality. I am a big Disney fan, and was involved in a Disney Imagineering competition last summer. I was in California with my brother for 10 days and we worked with the imagineers who design all the attractions for Disney themeparks. One of the biggest things they preached was about telling a story. Every attraction, every ride, every restaurant, every area tells a story. One example they gave was of restaurant in Animal Kingdom called the Fire Tree Barbecue. Through the architecture, style, seating area, decoration, and design the restaurant told a modified story of the turtle and the hair. We all know this story, and we all know that it contains universal truths. Honestly, I think that all stories contain some type of universal truth or moral in them. Whether it be as obvious as the fox and the hound or As I Lay Dying, or as subtle as, well, you tell me. Universal truths, morals, ethics, virtues, etc. are a constant part of our world. However, as Faulkner said in his speech, they are not as much of a focus in writing any more, thus leading us towards this constant physical fear. 1204161079

I am a huge believer in universal truths. We are all human, no matter where we are from, so in essence, we are not that different. We were created by the same God, in the same way as each other. So there MUST be universal truths like love and honesty and courage, etc. These are things that are intangible, and as JTu said, they are not things we can prove. They come from our souls, and that's why they must be universal, because no matter what culture we live in, our souls are the same as one another. But the way we express these universal truths varies per culture. NVa brought up the issue of //sati// in India. This is a complicated issue when it comes to universal truths. It is their expression of love for their husbands, and love is a universal truth, but as PSp said, what about the universal truth of Life? I think what Faulkner said about writing about universal truths is so important. Authors from every culture should write about universal truths... then maybe we would understand each other better. 1204169588

MMi I think that all authors from every culture do write about universal truths, because they are universal. It doesn't change from culture to culture, the same underlying idea is the same in any setting. Maybe how different cultures stress importance on and communicate these truths are different. This is probably one of the biggest reasons for many of the conflicts just between people in general. We don't recognize that we all live in the same world and have concepts of the same truths. From this mindset, we become selfish and think that what we know and value is only for us not for others, when in fact the person next to us probably has similar feelings about love or death or any other universal type thing.1204175944