Abstract
This paper deals with notion of truth and how it should be presented. By analyzing short story By the Waters of Babylon composed by Stephen Vincent Benét one may see that truth should be given out in small portions in order to reduce undesirable aftermath that may bear distrustful character. It discusses benefits of this way of presenting new information.
Everyone craves to live in truth and have healthy relations build on absence of lies and misconceptions. This desire is not limited by family or friends relations on the contrary it touches all human domains. Utter craving to hear bitter truth instead of a sweet lie can be explained by a number of reasons. First, truth is considered to be the most solid base if one wants to build and have long lasting and open relations and, again, it concerns all human interactions: starting from family and ending with government-citizen relations. Second, knowing true facts and confirmed information helps people in their development and pushes them closer to answering vital questions about themselves and surrounding world which are aimed at better understanding human nature and purpose. Finally truth serves as a guiding light that shows the correct course and deprives one from meaningless roaming. However, it should be mentioned that level of honesty and truth telling varies greatly which can be explained by things this truth reveals. For instance, being honest about minor deeds like a broken vase or car may be considered to be a simple and even insignificant truth that can only partially change one`s life or mood. While revealing shocking truth about avoiding tax paying, for instance Panama Papers creates an avalanche of emotions and starts a chain reaction that alters world perception and lives of a greater number of people. With this in mind one may see that truth brings changes and their size varies greatly. Moreover, ethics and morals promote truth telling but they are silent about its aftermath. Thus one may face a dilemma – should one reveal all truth at once even if it has destructive nature or it should be given in small portions in order to minimize the damage? Taking into consideration unpredictable and devastated effect of truth one may conclude that it is better to present people with small portions of truth thus lessening shock and other undesirable reactions like fear or fierce disagreement. In order to see benefits of this way of handling truth one should analyze Stephen Vincent Benét`s short story By the Waters of Babylon.
It should be mentioned that in short story By the Waters of BabylonStephen Vincent Benét presents reader with an accurate model of modern society that shows not only its ignorance and repeating pattern of history but also reveals real power of truth. By depicting post-apocalyptic world Benét illuminates drawbacks of the real one like a huge speed of evolvement of scientific domains which eases living and dying. He points out devastating possibilities that knowledge can bring. Moreover, narrator stresses that men did not have enough time to thoroughly comprehend and ‘digest’ received knowledge which led to a bitter end. With this in mind one may draw a parallel between consumption of knowledge and truth because they are tightly interlaced. Moreover, truth always bears some amount of information that can be classified as knowledge or wisdom and is aimed at making people aware of one thing or another. Thus in order to wisely use and apply data as well as truth one needs time for its adequate comprehension and interpretation because uncontrolled amount of information creates more bewilderment instead of clarity. Also, sudden revelation of some fact that is way more advanced and ground breaking may lead to an unpleasant aftermath for the one who has told it. For instance, Galileo Galilei and his Dialogues in spite of its revolutionary ideas and hypothesis were doomed almost from the very first try to publish it. (Leveillee) Unsuccessful attempt to tell truth all at once and failed desire to bring new knowledge can be explained by strong influence of Catholic Church that did not want to lose its power and authority as well as unprepared people who would have been shocked discovering that not all written in Bible should be accepted literary. It would have brought great changes, destructive chances which would have torn people`s world perception completely.
Furthermore, in By the Waters of Babylon author claims that it is harmful to give out all truth at once, thus father of protagonist states “Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much truth at once, you may die of the truth.” (Benét) Indeed, if one reveals all truth at once it will cause more harm than good because truth alters everything and more often than not people are not ready for such changes. There are cases when giving out groundbreaking facts or information put in danger political principals or traditions. For instance, WikiLeaks or Panama Papers revealed shady deals of the movers and shakers which negatively affected their reputation as well as people`s perception and envision of political forces. No doubt is that this information should not be hidden when one claims to be an honest and trustworthy official but one should bear in mind that political and international relations are extremely complicated and complex. There was, is and will be things that should not meet public`s eye for instance issues concerned national security because they can evoke unpredictable reaction from people who are more emotionally rather than rationally driven. However, it should be mentioned that hiding information all the time is not acceptable from moral point because it belittles and insults those who are intentionally deprived from it even if it is done with a good intention. With this in mind one may contradict Kant`s maxim that “A good will is good not because of what it performs or effects, but simply by virtue of the volition; that is, it is good in itself” because good will is not enough in taking some action like revealing truth. (Kant) Actions as well as decisions should be resourceful, well-thought and resolving. It should be mentioned that everything should be well-thought and over-thought because simple desire to act good may cause the same aftermath like with revealing the whole truth. It is more often than not means devastating changes.
Moreover, another philosopher Aristotle in Ethics points out that “[] things are destroyed by deficiency and by excess. Just as the body needs food and exercise, yet too much or too little can damage it” ("Squashed Philosophers - Aristotle - Ethics") With this in mind one may see that presentation of truth should be provided in portions because too much of it may cause mind ‘indigestion’ while too little may lash out one`s imagination thus creating lots of misbeliefs and misconceptions. As can be seen these two cases are harmful not only for truth perception and comprehension but also for its further use.
Furthermore, main character John from By the Waters of Babylon comes to the same conclusion claiming that “He was right — it is better the truth should come little by little. I have learned that, being a priest. Perhaps, in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast.” (Benét) It should be mentioned that uncontrolled and insensible devour of truth creates only leap of logic which does not set one free on the contrary it bewilders and leads into chaos. Moreover, protagonist of this short story goes through a journey designed to make his spirit stronger but at the same time it opens bitter truth that gods were only men. In order to understand it he had to spend some time analyzing and observing. With this in mind one may say that it is better to give truth bit-by-bit leaving people alone with their feelings and thoughts thus giving them time to understand new information as well as prepare them for a new portion. Such approach minimizes unpredictable and undesirable outcomes.
All things considered it is obvious that truth should be given in small doses in order not to shock or even traumatize people. It should be stressed that truth bears new information that alters previous beliefs and conceptions and in order to get used to it one needs time for comprehension. This time is available only if one receives truth in portions but not all at once. With small doses person may have time to think and be prepared for another portion which minimized unexpected effect and emotional over-reaction.
Works cited
Benét, Stephen Vincent. "By The Waters Of Babylon". Tkinter.smig.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 June 2016.
Kant, Immanuel. "Squashed Philosophers - Kant - Metaphysics Of Morals". Sqapo.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 June 2016.
Leveillee, Nicholas P. "Copernicus, Galileo, And The Church: Science In A Religious World". Student Pulse 3.05 (2011): n. pag. Web. 21 June 2016.
"Squashed Philosophers - Aristotle - Ethics". Sqapo.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 June 2016.
