Guiding Questions

• Who controls the production and definition of truth in society?

• Can power distort truth — or does truth have its own power?

• How do politics, institutions, and culture shape our understanding of what is “real”?

Truth Is Not Always Neutral

We like to think of truth as objective and independent — like a fact written in stone.

But in history, truth is often decided by those who hold the microphone:

• Religious leaders declared the Earth was the center of the universe

• Kings ruled “by divine right”

• Colonizers claimed their domination was “civilizing”

• Politicians declare falsehoods to be truth — and truth to be fake news

Truth becomes dangerous when it serves power — instead of challenging it.

Philosophical Perspectives

Friedrich Nietzsche

Saw truth as “a mobile army of metaphors” — ideas that gain power through repetition, not accuracy.

Michel Foucault

Argued that truth is produced within systems of power — especially through institutions like schools, prisons, and media.

George Orwell

In 1984, imagined a world where truth was rewritten daily. “Who controls the past controls the future.”

Cornel West

Warns that truth without courage is fragile — and that speaking truth to power is an act of resistance.

Institutional Truth vs. Personal Experience

Who do we trust to define the truth?

• Governments?

• Scientists?

• Journalists?

• Religious authorities?

• Tech platforms?

• Ourselves?

Sometimes “official truth” conflicts with lived truth.

Whose reality counts?

A Thought Experiment

Imagine a society where the government decides all “truth.”

People who question it are labeled dangerous.

Textbooks, news, even search engines obey the same narrative.

Most people believe it — because it’s everywhere.

Now ask:

Is truth what the majority believes?

Or does truth exist even when no one accepts it?

Two Perspectives

Power Defines Truth

Those with control over media, law, and education can shape what people believe is true.

Truth Defies Power

Even the most powerful regimes cannot erase all truth — it resurfaces through art, memory, and resistance.

Building a Truth-Conscious Society

• Critical thinking taught at all education levels

• Media literacy to spot manipulation and bias

• Whistleblower protections for truth-tellers

• Transparency laws that limit state and corporate secrecy

• Diverse voices in public discourse

• Philosophical humility — knowing we might be wrong

Reflect and Discuss

• Has your view of truth ever changed after gaining more information?

• Can truth exist independently of social or political power?

• What responsibilities do individuals have in a society where truth is contested?

Suggested Readings

• Michel Foucault – Power/Knowledge

• George Orwell – 1984

• Hannah Arendt – Truth and Politics

• Friedrich Nietzsche – On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense

• Cornel West – Democracy Matters

“Truth without power is silent. Power without truth is tyranny.”

— Tiger Lyon