I usually have a hard time figuring out what I’m going to write about here. It’s not because the topic is limited or that I can’t think of anything — really it’s the opposite.
I see so many connections between my faith and the world around me. Actually, I really don’t see any distinction between them. Because of this, and some readers’ requests for me to divulge more directly into some beliefs of the Baha’i faith, this “episode” might jump around a little, but I’ll try to make it as fluid and cohesive as possible.
It should be noted that I don’t like talking about anything in a preaching sort of way. In fact, the Baha’i faith has a law against proselytism (attempting to convert people). This means you won’t find me trying to convince anyone to become a Baha’i. I might ask you if you seem interested or provide assistance by answering questions, but I’m not going to consciously persuade you in any way. Unless, of course, you happen to be convinced by the answers I give.
I’ve talked before about the concept of independently investigating the truth, and really this is why we don’t proselytize. The idea is that everyone has a yearning to seek out truth, and it’s so much more effective when you can do that free (or as free as possible) from other people telling you what’s true and what’s not.
Truth is a pretty interesting concept in itself. I must admit, I’m fascinated by epistemology, especially how it relates to scientific and educational methodologies. We live in a fairly relativistic society; each person kind of comes to their own understanding and formulates their own idea of truth separately from one another. Often these relative truths don’t line up with each other and we end up with various ideologies that — even though we may tolerate each other — aren’t very integrated. Through the study of the Baha’i writings, I came to the conclusion that this way of thinking doesn’t really seem to work. I think we can see this in academia especially.
There’s another theory in epistemology that essentially states that truth is absolute. This was more common in previous ages, and its main problem, as we soon found out, was who got to decide what was truth. This extreme is why we then jumped to the opposite extreme so rapidly as people became frustrated with this idea.
In one of my classes the other day, the professor was trying to help us understand why certain theories are used so often and are so important in a particular field. But he explained that we also need to know why a theory doesn’t work. To do this, he likened it to the theory of relativity and then also to the theory of quantum mechanics (at this point, those knowledgeable about physics can hold back their screams; the accuracy of this representation isn’t important, and I don’t pretend to understand physics).
From what I know, relativity is a theory within physics that works undeniably at the macro level (meaning, when applied to large objects, they always react in this way). Quantum mechanics is the same except that it’s undeniable accuracy is for small objects. When applied together, however, the two theories simply cannot exist at the same time. Both are necessary as they’re the only way we can currently understand the world around us. Now it doesn’t end there. String theory is an attempt to merge the two previous theories so they co-exist and accurately represent the macro and micro levels of the universe.
In the Baha’i faith, we talk a lot about not automatically dichotomizing things. In this case, we’re creating a dichotomy where relative and absolute truth cannot exist at the same time and are mutually exclusive. I kind of struggled with this idea as a Baha’i, because I knew there was some amount of truth that was absolute; I know God exists, that humanity is, in essence, one, that part of my purpose as a human being is to help create a better world, and so on.
But I also know the way we all understand things is different and that it’s really hard to distinguish truth from falsehood sometimes. How can any one person know so much as to determine anything as truth with the limited capacity we have as individuals?
So these were my kind of epistemological crises until I was able to read a few documents. One of the documents, inspired by the Baha’i faith and published in the North American Journal of Bahai’ Studies was really helpful. It’s called “Articulating a Consultative Epistemology: Toward a Reconciliation of Truth and Relativism” by Michael Karlberg and Todd Smith. The article tries to bring the two ideas of relative and absolute truth together using consultative methods outlined in the Baha’i writings.
I think it’s really important to look at ways in which theories we use in academia can be transformed positively using our understanding of spiritual truths. I hope this gives some insight into that process as we head out into the real world for the summer with less schoolwork and more time to think about the issues around us.
Finally, I’d also like to add that a driving belief of the Baha’i faith is that whatever we do, we should strive for excellence. And I certainly try to keep that in mind while studying for exams. Enjoy your summer, Carleton.
