by Robert Grice

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

Is truth absolute or conditional?

A better question would be; does absolute Truth exist? The only way to answer this question with any level of credibility is to first identify and define the terms. Truth is a law or principle that is transcendent in nature and universal in application. The assumption that absolute Truth exists recognizes that all creation began with a common first cause. The first cause created order in creation and including the truth that people would need in order to form civil society and to live successful lives.

Naturalistic Truth

Most people freely accept absolute Truth in the realm of science. Naturalistic truth explains the relationships between substances within the physical or natural realm. The natural sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics assume that nature functions based on these unchanging principles. Understanding the principles allows for the prediction of outcomes and suggests the manageability of natural forces.

Metaphysical Truth

The problem comes with determining if absolute metaphysical Truth exists in moral codes, ethics, or spirituality. The contemporary view is that morality, ethics, and spirituality should be subject to the preferences of the individual. In this sense, absolute moral, ethical, and spiritual Truth does not exist.

Is this statement true? Every devotee of a religion naturally assumes the beliefs of that religion reflect absolute Truth including the moral or ethical standards prescribed by the religion. However, our natural desire to be free agents in life recoils at the notion that we should submit to the moral standards imposed on us by others.

Natural Law in History

Does an absolute body of Truth apply to the naturalistic and metaphysical realms? The classical Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle introduced the idea of natural law. Natural law recognized that the physical realm functioned on principles that did not change and, since humanity is part of the created order, the laws apply to human interactions too.

Other notable historical characters were influenced by natural law. The Roman philosopher Cicero applied natural law to political theory. Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and John Locke viewed natural law as the guiding force behind all social existence. Natural law was influential in the formation of the U.S. Constitution.

The idea of natural law as a basis of ethics entered the Medieval Church's discussion of morality and ethics. Thomas Aquinas expanded the understanding

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