Allow me a moment to indulge in some philosophy for a paragraph or two – the purpose will soon become evident. What drives any of us to become scientists? A significant part is our curiosity about the natural world, alongside an awareness of how much remains to be discovered and a desire to partake in that process. Yet, beneath that curiosity lies a conviction in something that not every contemporary philosopher shares the same faith in: truth itself.
This is because most scientists are (either knowingly or unknowingly) philosophical realists. We hold the belief that an external reality exists, a physical world distinct from human thoughts, perceptions, and language. In other words, the findings we make in laboratories and fields are not simply inventions but rather discoveries. Cells were present long before we visualized them through microscopes, containing intricate molecules even before we understood how elements bond chemically. Gravity behaved according to an inverse square law prior to our understanding of that mathematical principle, and that relationship started to fail near significant gravity wells before we recognized Mercury’s peculiar orbital patterns and before Albert Einstein formulated the relativistic mathematics behind it.
Each year, our understanding deepens, and many of us would assert that we reveal more truth along the way. This journey depends on the open exchange of information, allowing for the interrogation, analysis, and critique of ideas to assess how effectively they mirror our reality.
The notion of truth heavily occupies my thoughts as I draft this column. My wife is Iranian. My government has been targeting my in-laws with munitions. The ever-changing justifications from our elected president and his representatives create difficulties in discerning the truth: the war has concluded, it is merely commencing; support from other nations is essential, we do not require aid; we are overthrowing the regime, we do not care about its replacement; energy costs will not rise, they may increase but it’s due to others, they will rise and it’s beneficial for you; we are pursuing negotiations. The twists are relentless.
It reflects the times. Truth has consistently faced challenges in politics, particularly during wartime. However, the current administration has made it apparent that it prioritizes loyalty and ideology over truth and evidence. This extends beyond the recent war: consider the radical shifts in its stance on regulating new vaccines and managing existing ones, or halting wind and solar energy initiatives in favor of increasing fossil fuel consumption and dismantling the groundwork for climate change legislation (which is claimed to be a hoax). The Iranian government, too, has its version of truth, which conveniently bolsters its authoritarian control over the long-suffering Iranian populace. So how should one respond to all of this?
“Let the lie come into the world. Let it even triumph. But not through me.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
The risk (as William Blake expressed) is that we become what we gaze upon. I fervently wish to avoid this, but in resisting, there exists another peril, as articulated by Friedrich Nietzsche with his signature dramatic flair: struggle not with monsters, lest one become a monster oneself. One must resist the urge to wield the same weapons used against them, remembering that truth is of utmost importance and that we cannot fabricate our way to it.
This has always been true in science, even though we humans who engage in it may fall short of its ideals. However, this does not imply that such ideals lack value. My response to the current situation is to portray it as truthfully as I can and as I know how. The current U.S. government wants me to accept that it alone possesses the real truth – regardless of how often that ‘truth’ shifts, and that questioning or critiquing its actions or ideology is unpatriotic and criminal.
These are falsehoods. And I categorically refuse to comply with them. I dedicate my days to uncovering truths about the physical world, and I will uphold that in every aspect of my life. “Let the lie come into the world,” declared Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “let it even triumph. But not through me.”