Why do we seek truth?

Question

Let's face it we all want to know the truth about everything, right?

But where did this need to know come from?

(I asked this in the Religion & Spirituality board and received only 1 answer. Hope you guys can do better)

Answer 1

MANY religious organizations claim to have the truth, and they offer it eagerly to others. However, between them they offer a dizzying profusion of “truths.” Is this just another evidence that all truths are relative, that there are no absolute truths? No.

In his book The Art of Thinking, Professor V. R. Ruggiero expresses his surprise that even intelligent people sometimes say that truth is relative. He reasons: “If everyone makes his own truth, then no person’s idea can be better than another’s. All must be equal. And if all ideas are equal, what is the point in researching any subject? Why dig in the ground for answers to archeological questions? Why probe the causes of tension in the Middle East? Why search for a cancer cure? Why explore the galaxy? These activities make sense only if some answers are better than others, if truth is something separate from, and unaffected by, individual perspectives.”

In fact, no one really believes that there is no truth. When it comes to physical realities, such as medicine, mathematics, or the laws of physics, even the staunchest relativist will believe that some things are true. Who of us would dare to ride in an airplane if we did not think that the laws of aerodynamics were absolute truths? Verifiable truths do exist; they surround us, and we stake our lives on them

It is in the moral realm, though, where the errors of relativism are most apparent, for it is here that such thinking has done the most harm. The Encyclopedia Americana makes this point: “It has been seriously doubted whether knowledge, or known truth, is humanly attainable . . . It is certain, however, that whenever the twin ideals of truth and knowledge are rejected as visionary or harmful, human society decays.”

Perhaps you have noticed such decay. For example, the Bible’s moral teachings, which say clearly that sexual immorality is wrong, are only rarely held as truths anymore. Situation ethics—“decide what is right for you”—is the order of the day. Could anyone claim that social decay has not resulted from this relativistic outlook? Surely the worldwide epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases, broken homes, and teenage pregnancies speak for themselves.

What Is the Truth?

So let us leave the murky waters of relativism and examine briefly what the Bible describes as the pure waters of truth. (John 4:14; Revelation 22:17) In the Bible, “truth” is not at all like the abstract, intangible concept over which philosophers debate.

When Jesus said that his whole purpose in life was to talk about the truth, he was speaking of something that faithful Jews had valued for centuries. In their sacred writings, the Jews had long read of “truth” as something concrete, not theoretical. In the Bible, “truth” translates the Hebrew word “’emeth′,” which signifies that which is firm, solid, and, perhaps most of all, reliable.

The Jews had good reason for viewing truth in that way. They called their God, Jehovah, “the God of truth.” (Psalm 31:5) This was because everything Jehovah said he would do, he did. When he made promises, he kept them. When he inspired prophecies, they were fulfilled. When he uttered final judgments, they were carried out. Millions of Israelites had been eyewitnesses of these realities. Granted, accepting the truths of God’s Word exacts a price. First, just learning the truth can be a shattering experience. The Encyclopedia Americana observes: “The truth is often disagreeable, because it fails to support prejudice or myth.” Seeing our beliefs exposed as untrue can be disillusioning, especially if we were taught by trusted religious leaders. Some might liken the experience to finding out that trusted parents were, in fact, secret criminals. But is not finding out religious truth better than living under a delusion? Is it not better to know the facts than to be manipulated by lies?—Compare John 8:32; Romans 3:4.

Second, living by religious truth may cost us the acceptance of some who were formerly our friends. In a world where so many have “exchanged the truth of God for the lie,” those who hold firm to the truth of God’s Word seem peculiar and are sometimes shunned and misunderstood.—Romans 1:25; 1 Peter 4:4.

But the truth is worth this twofold price. Knowing the truth sets us free from lies, delusions, and superstitions. And when we live by it, the truth strengthens us to endure hardships. God’s truth is so reliable and well-founded, and it so inspires us with hope, that it enables us to stand up under any test. No wonder the apostle Paul likened truth to the wide, sturdy leather belt, or girdle, that soldiers wore into battle!—Ephesians 6:13, 14.

The Bible proverb says: “Buy truth itself and do not sell it—wisdom and discipline and understanding.” (Proverbs 23:23) To dismiss truth as relative or nonexistent is to miss out on the most thrilling and fulfilling quest that life offers. To find it is to find hope; to know and love it is to know and love the Creator of the universe and his only-begotten Son; to live by it is to live with purpose and peace of mind, now and forever.—Proverbs 2:1-5; Zechariah 8:19; John 17:3.

Answer 2

We seek what we think portends to be the truth.  In a way it is, in a way it really isn't.  The extent we want to know the truth ends at the point at which we benefit from that knowledge.

Going past that point brings pain with very little gain, except wisdom.

Answer 3

-the need to feel superior to other beings by being right?

-human species is curious by nature by being curious and finding truths sometimes we can live longer or help the species survive or provide a better quality of life?

-It provides stimulation trying to find the truth about things therefore we would not be bored?