Context is All

The first matter of importance in answering this question is defining the most important terms: context and truth. Traditional dictionary definitions however are going to be of limited use to the exploration of this question particularly within the realm of theories of knowledge. Such definitions are limited not only by language but also by brevity. In many ways, fully defining these terms in more abstract terms will yield the larger answers sought after in the paper’s question.

It is perhaps therefore best to begin by defining context as the set of realities and circumstances necessary to understanding all things. To fully grasp any one thing or idea, its context must be understood in terms of the way any viewpoint is informed by the perceptual, language, reasoning and emotional milieu in which the knower operates. Truth, for our purposes may be defined as a simple accordance with reality. Like context, however, truth too is a function of the impact of the ways of knowing on the knower. However, in order for the idea of truth to integrate more seamlessly with that of context, one might make the claim that the more about a given thing or idea’s context that is understood, the more inherently true that thing becomes. So then, Atwood’s claim is primarily correct in that the object of truth in any significant scope of knowledge or existence depends in fact largely on context.

The above implies not a little about both context and truth. Obviously, given these initial definitions, the ways in which the reality of a particular object is understood is largely linked to the degree of clarity of its context. An example of this can be found in art, where the context of a work’s creation has enormous effect on the meaning of the piece to its recipient. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is ostensibly a simplistic narrative about animals and their life on a farm. Only with some knowledge of the writer and the book’s background and historical setting can we appreciate that it is in fact a satirical allegory of soviet totalitarianism and a critique of Stalinist rule. The more that is seen then of an object’s surroundings and situation, the truer and more real that object becomes. It is however important to recognize that context has much to do with setting and therefore when it comes to an individual, the perceived reality of anything is profoundly correlated with that individual’s background. Personal truth as opposed to universal truth is important because it shifts the role of context as well as truth.