Seeking Truth: How to move from partisan bickering
to building consensus
Elgin L. Hushbeck, Jr.
Inspirational, Epistemology, 292
pp
April 26, 2022, Energion
Publications, Gonzalez, FL
ebook $8.99
Print paper $24.99
About the Book:
We live in a world that is not governed by Truth.
Disagreements surround us. Recent Presidential elections are hotly contested
and won by the narrowest of margins. Charges of misinformation, fake news, and
bias abound. Everyone claims they are correct; they have the Truth.
Seeking Truth looks at both the philosophical and practical issues of Truth to
understand how we come to know what we know and why we disagree so much. More
importantly, it lays out how we can disagree in ways that avoid division and
polarization and instead move to build a consensus on the Truth.
Seeking Truth addresses things like how to think about what you believe, how to
handle disagreement and errors positively, how do you know if you are
open-minded, and how to make better decisions.
Seeking Truth uses a lot of examples to make this case. To avoid current
disputes, most are drawn from history, as people in various times and settings
sought to understand how nature works, what happened in a particular event, or
what is the best way to proceed or govern ourselves. Science, history,
politics, business, all of these areas involve Truth in one way or another.
Get Seeking Truth to become a better thinker, a more critical thinker, and one
who moves closer to the Truth.
My Review:
Using examples from our past in
science and philosophy, politics, and communication, Hushbeck sets out to show
us a more perfect way to disagree while not having to be of the same mind in
his compelling book, Seeking Truth. It’s a big topic and timely as the
world has become more polarized in action and reaction. Hushbeck’s approach to
guiding readers on this journey out of the pit of partisanship is a thoughtful,
pedagogical study of applying critical thinking to distill “absolute, objective
truth.”
The book is not terribly long
but well detailed and covers considerable ground from the antiquities to recent
US polls of opinion. The book is divided into three main parts with digestible
chunks: one – a study of history to set the table for establishing truth; two –
how disagreement and error shape society and understanding; and three – a
reasonable guideline for purposeful discussion. It’s not an easy read, but
honest and forthright and best of all, sensible and objective.
I appreciate the examples from
science and history about how theories of elements, disease, and energy have
evolved as the methods of testing improved; how the Lincoln-Douglass debates of
the mid-nineteenth century US show that complexities of context shape public
opinion, echoing down through the generations.
Moving beyond bickering can only
happen when people are willing. “Reason does not work on those who embrace
irrationality,” Hushbeck points out. “For some, truth is just a power
structure, a tool for oppressors to use on the oppressed.”
Offering plenty of advice for
defining and refining disagreements and errors and avoiding repression and
censorship, Seeking Truth is not an answer, but a process. Reaching a
common goal is a commitment, a constant testing of theory and practice, and
keeping communication open. “Hopefully, if a side consistently loses because of
bad arguments, they will seek to develop better ones. As a result, the level of
discussion will improve.”
We are fallible, Hushbeck
concludes, but learning better arguments “can only improve the process of
seeking and bringing us all closer to the truth.”
Recommended for readers
interested in learning more about applying and practicing critical thinking.
About the Author:Elgin L. Hushbeck Jr. has been many things over his life,
author, hardware engineer, software developer, manager, small business owner,
educator, lecturer, and family man. He wears many hats, but there is a common
thread throughout. Mr. Hushbeck has been an Evangelical Christian for over 40
years.
Mr. Hushbeck's background includes academic studies in
religion, history, and engineering, culminating with a Bachelor's Degree in
Electrical Engineering, and Master's degrees in both Christian Apologetics and
an MBA/Technology Management. As an engineer, he worked for several engineering
and technology firms, including five years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena. There he was part of a team developing a high accuracy GPS
receiver. He was also part of the Voyager Flight Team for the encounter with
the planet Neptune. His wife Hanna also has dual Master's degrees, one in
Nursing with an emphasis in Informatics, and the other in Applied Computer
Science. From 1999-2007 they owned their own company, which designed and
developed databases and custom software applications for small businesses.
Mr. Hushbeck has taught at the University of Phoenix, and most recently for
Rassmussen College. He has taught, among other things, classes in Information
Technology, Computers Science, and Business. He also taught critical thinking
both to students and to other faculty. http://www.hushbeck.com
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