User:LGreg/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge (LG seminar 2020/21)/Seminar 18/Truth/Truth in Literature

Truth

Truth is a form of knowledge, though there is debate on its nature. Newton maintained that truth was to be found, while Nietzsche claimed that the truth is social rather than an absolute entity.

Literature

Literature can be defined as “writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” This definition could include works of fiction or non-fiction, and these have different relationships with the idea of truth.

Truth in Non-Fiction

Non-fiction literature aims to represent a truthful and accurate representation of events, people or phenomena, and as such should be written in an objective and unbiased manner. However, non-fiction literature often encounters obstacles in the form of subjectivity, which can be caused by a number of factors, such as conflicts of interest. There is evidence that “individuals use different strategies to evaluate propositions depending on whether the hypothesis is desirable or threatening/disagreeable to them.” Even though it is customary to reveal any source of conflict of interest when publishing a piece of literature, this does not counteract the fact that this conflict clouds the truthfulness of the work, and so the process of discovering the truth is not as straightforward as simply reading a piece of non-fiction.

Truth in Fiction

Fictional literature does not always depict truthful or realistic images of our world, but even when it doesn’t, it usually includes some sort of social commentary, political criticism, or reflection on the human condition. For example, The Handmaid’s Tale is set in a dystopian world, but its dystopian world is clearly based on the themes of patriarchal society and the subjugation of women seen in our world. In this way, even though the story itself doesn’t show a literal truth, it conveys a commentary on the truth in which we are living.

On the other hand, the realistic style of literature aims to represent subject matter truthfully, detailing the most mundane experiences. By doing so, realism attempts to present the readers with their reality, and highlight the truths and challenges they face in an unidealized fashion. An example of one such piece of literature is Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It is widely regarded as one of the best pieces of literature to ever be written, largely due to the skill with which Tolstoy was able to capture the essence of both men and women, and their feelings of love, jealousy, anger, and many more. In this instance, fictional literature is as direct a representation of truth as possible, showcasing Russian society, culture and people while also consisting of completely fictional characters.

The Decolonization of Literature

In recent years, many works of literature have been criticized for their depiction of different races and cultures that have historically been oppressed. For example, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help has come under fire for being an example of “white saviourism” which focuses on white voices, and portrays white characters rescuing minorities, minimizing those minorities’ voices and their roles in the civil rights movement. Additionally, literary canons rarely include works from outside the Western hemisphere, thus giving a very one-sided view of events and people in the past. The term “decolonization” has been coined to describe the integration of works from different cultures into literary canons, allowing a more truthful representation of the world and a balanced understanding of how different people experienced different events rather than focusing on the Western perspective.