Perspectives from FSF Scholars February 23, 2023 Vol. 19, No. 8

Contrast personal claims to “my truth” with the language in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” There is a yawning gap between the philosophical foundation upon which claims to “my truth” res. [...] As William Galston put it in his recent Wall Street Journal column, the phrase “my truth” is “the tip of an epistemological iceberg.” When invoked, “[i]t stands for the proposition that the truth doesn’t exist and that the quest for it is futile. [...] Instead, there are multiple ‘perspectives,’ each rooted in the position, experiences and sentiments of individuals or of groups in similar positions.” If truth is conceded to be dependent on the predilections of individuals, or groups of individuals with the same predilections, then it necessarily will be more difficult to reach common ground on deep-seated issues that divide Americans. [...] That it took the Civil War to abolish the evil of slavery so flatly inconsistent with the Declaration’s equality principle does not diminish the power of its truth. [...] The views expressed in this Perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of others on the staff of the Free State Foundation or those affiliated with it.