Truth Claims and the Future of Web Design
July 9th, 2008 in Web Design Worldview
by: Matthew Griffin
"What is truth?" Pontius Pilate asked this question almost 2000 years ago. At the time, he had no inkling of the infamy which was to follow these words through the millennia. He asked the question as a jaded cynic—he had no interest in knowing the truth. In fact, his question is of a rhetorical nature, implying simply that there is no truth. And yet, in asking this question he hit the very crux of the human condition. Our view of truth is the Rosetta Stone for how we interpret life, relationships, ethics, vocation, and even design. It's the foundation of our worldview. Without a firm grasp on the popular views of truth we encounter, we will find ourselves in situations where our speech is lost in translation. Remember, when we talk about truth here, we are talking about the whole ball of wax. We're asking, What is reality? What is right and what is wrong? What really happened in history? What is real? The question extends out to every area of existence and has enormous implications for the future of our work in web design. In order to clear the haze, we'll start by looking at some popular views of truth and then we'll move on to the historical Christian view of truth and why it conforms to reality as no other view does.
Statistical Truth: Finding Truth in Numbers
Statistical truth is a popular view of that follows closely along the path of evolutionary psychology. It defines truth as "whatever the data supports." It starts by assuming the non-existence (or at least irrelevance) of a supreme, all-knowing being and then looks to external data for a definition of reality. When the numbers are in and everything is tallied up, truth becomes apparent. In this system's view of ethics, for example, if 51% of a group of people believe that murder is wrong, then it's wrong. It proposes that, aside from statistical analysis, there is no legitimate metric for measuring the truth. In other words, the data necessary for compiling an accurate model of reality is available external to ourselves. But the logic necessary for processing and interpreting the data is found within the human being and is generally reliable as long as it's unencumbered by irrational superstition.
An honest application of statistical truth to design has logical processing of data telling us what the perfect web design is. According to statistical truth, all we need to be good designers is consume and process enough statistical data about our field. In the end, though, there is no room for diversity in statistical truth. And that just isn't reality. When you push statistical truth all the way out to it's furthest conclusions, it fails miserably. Eventually, it leads to pure unity with no room for creativity or progress. But we don't even have to get that far before statistical truth begins to break down. It's very premise begs a disruptive question: Why should we trust our own logical faculties? Without the presence of a logical designer, there is no reason why our logic should be trusted. This is where our next truth claim steps in—intrinsic truth.
Intrinsic Truth: Finding Truth in Self-expression
Another popular view of truth that's more commonly found in the creative crowd is intrinsic truth. That is, truth that can be found within each individual. With intrinsic truth, there is no overarching reality. Reality is only as real as an individual perceives it. I like to call this philosophy the Disney truth because it's all about following your heart—discovering your inner self. And as we all know, "Follow your heart" is the mantra of just about every lovable furry sidekick Disney has ever produced. Why follow your heart? Well, because that's where the truth lives. In the view of intrinsic truth, the only necessary action for our realization of truth is that we scrub away the scum left by outside influences and malevolent victimizers.
Intrinsic truth holds itself up as a recipe for "finding yourself." In reality, it's anything but. Intrinsic truth tells designers that all they need to do is express themselves and they will find truth and be satisfied and happy. Makoto Fujimura of the International Arts Movement found this path to lead to a somewhat different destination. In his recent autobiography River Grace he explained:
...the more I focused on myself, the less I could find myself... A schism grew inside between who I wanted to be and what I did.
Makoto Fujimura
Intrinsic truth tries to find reality by denying that there is one reality. Proposing, rather, that we all have our own realities. But again, we are left with a view of truth that is unlivable. Without a unified truth, we are left to despair. There is no hope that our web sites will ever communicate anything.
Revealed Truth: Finding Truth Outside Ourselves
Let's take a step back and revisit our starting assumption about truth. Let's say (in contrast to the first two views) there is a supreme being who is both unified and diverse, who knows all, sees all, controls all, and has defined the rules of the universe. If such a being exists, then whatever that being's view of reality is, is truly reality. In this view, truth would be defined as "reality as God sees it." With this starting assumption we've already solved the problem of overarching truth. In this model, truth can actually exist—It exists outside of us, completely independent of our finite perception. It doesn't require our acknowledgment in any way to continue existing.
But the existence of a supreme being is inconsequential unless that being has revealed some part of this reality to human beings—some kind of key to determining truth from lie or fantasy. Without revelation, we're back in the mix with the other two views of truth.
Christianity has historically accepted two infallible revelations of God: his word (the Bible) and his physical creation. God's revelation in his physical creation is called general revelation. It speaks of his glory, his orderly nature, his diversity, and his power. It is enough to leave us with no doubt that he is God and force us to face his majesty. But without his specific revelation, the Bible, we would be ignorant of the important details of his work, his plan, and his requirements of us.
The Irony of Pontius Pilate's question about truth is that the truth was standing right in front of him—Christ. In this system of truth established by Christ, the future of design is hopeful. In fact, it's the only system that provides any lasting hope for design. It allows for a set of real governing laws of design without diminishing the legitimacy or importance of diversity within design. It gives us a system that we can actually live out. Now, we the designers get to decide which path web design will follow in the coming generations. And I for one will continue to spread the good news of God's revelation of truth and how it shapes design. If you want to read more about the Christian worldview and how it relates to web design, go to the Worldview Center page.
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Comments
Posted By: Tom Bland on 07/09/08
Hi Matthew, Just a quick one to let you know that I've just started reading your articles, and have been really enjoying them and getting alot of value for them. As a young Christian designer, it's great to read someone with a similar approach to both faith and design. I find that alot of Christian writers on the web tend to be somewhat fundamentalist, or come across as being more about "Churchianity" than Christ, and I think you're standing out aside from that bunch. Thanks, Tom.
Posted By: Chad on 07/09/08
Another great article. Thanks Matt.
Posted By: CK on 07/09/08
Nice post. Makes perfect logical sense.
Posted By: Timothy Long on 07/09/08
Again Matthew, I have to compliment your endeavor to affix the Christian philosophy with that of design theory. The relativistic or "instrinsic" truth that you speak of is the staple of modern-day artists. It has produced, at the least, a generation of morally depraved art. The objective is no longer to create something that uplifts; it is to be as offensive, abrasive, and controversial as humanly possible. "What's right for me is right for me, what's right for you is right for you. You have no right to say otherwise." It's nice to see that someone sees it differently.
Posted By: Matthew Griffin on 07/09/08
Thanks everyone for the comments.
Posted By: Jason Cochran on 07/09/08
Another great article, Matt. I always enjoy reading your stuff. Is the Bible not Intrinsic Truth? If you have the view that the Bible was written by men who were divinely inspired, then was that not their "art"? Those priests were interpreting God's reality or "Word." Only God can truly create and perceive true reality. Humans are simply going off of an interpretation created from within their limited mind. If priests did indeed write the Bible, does the Bible not display "a reality" from the perceptual viewpoint of the author? That is Intrinsic by definition. The same thing might be said about this blog. Christianity has inspired you to create it based upon your knowledge and understanding. That in turn molds your reality, with the aid of your sense perceptions. Is your blog not Intrinsic since it comes from your viewpoint or perception of reality?
Posted By: Matthew Grffin on 07/09/08
Jason, I'll agree with you on one point: this blog is definitely full fallible content. Although I seek the truth of God, my mind is clouded with sin and ignorance. I have receive no direct audible communication from God. In that sense, you could say that my words proceed from intrinsic truth (I'll qualify this statement below). The Bible, on the other hand, is directly inspired by God, making it direct revelation. And although the evidence (historical and otherwise) is overwhelmingly in favor of this view, our sin nature which plagues us from birth prevents us from turning toward this truth. This is important because I'm saying that our rejection of truth is not due to a lack of intelligence. We know this because some of the most intelligent people in history have stood on either side of this issue. Rather, it takes a regenerative act of God applying the redemptive work of Christ to set our minds back toward the truth. Because of this regeneration that has taken place in my being, I can say that my deductive reasoning, although imperfect, is generally trustworthy. The Bible, though, is 100% trustworthy.
Posted By: on 07/10/08
I'm no master, but I'm pretty convinced that all truth is relational. Some argue over the value of truth this way or that (absolute vs. relative). But regardless, you have to be relationally connected to anything or anybody that is Truth in order for something to be true. In design, we call that Gestalt: How does every element relate to every other element? The more "Gestalt", the more we praise something as well designed. It rings "true" to us.
Posted By: Matthew Grffin on 07/10/08
M. Joshua, if I'm understanding you correctly I agree with you at least in part. But I think we are really talking about preference here rather than truth. Christianity allows for great diversity in preference without denying the unity that ties all preferences together. If my response gets any deeper than that, I'm afraid I'll end up with a mile long comment.
Posted By: Bryan Chain on 07/10/08
Did I miss the point somewhere? How does a discussion about philosophical and religious truth related to web design? In fact, I disagree with you so much I decided to write my own article about it. http://www.werkkrew.com/2008/07/10/truth-with-respect-to-art/
Posted By: Matthew Grffin on 07/10/08
Bryan, I'm flattered that you would actually take to time to write a rebuttal, but I think you are up against more than you realize here. Down through history, just about every major contributer to design has accepted that truth claims dramatically affected design. From Vitruvius to Da Vinci to the leaders of the Bauhaus movement; everywhere you turn in design history, you see foundational philosophical claims. In fact, you yourself are making a pretty strong statement about truth when you challenge my article. After all, if truth doesn't affect design, why bother? It's inescapable. We can either ignore it and pretend that the connection doesn't exist, or we can drag it out and be honest. That's what the great designers of the past did and I think I'll take my chances in their company.
Posted By: Bryan Chain on 07/10/08
I must still be missing the point but I honestly do not understand how truth relates to design, and how this all comes back to christ. I suppose I will never be able to understand the minds of people who buy into religion. In line with the seeming purpose of your site, though, how many of history's great designers are christian?
Posted By: Chad on 07/10/08
"He who has ears, let him hear."
Posted By: Wes Plybon on 07/11/08
"I must still be missing the point but I honestly do not understand how truth relates to design, and how this all comes back to christ." I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the topic of debate here is not that everything points back to Christ. However what Matt is describing, and the focus of his life, is living the worldview that he has come to understand, that is of Christianity. When you seek to have a completely cohesive world view, as Matt is doing, you start coming across little (or not so little) nuances about how the world (meaning everyone) thinks in general. The rest of the worldview development involves taking all those ideas and finding out how they fit. What I perceive Matt to be saying, in essence, is that Christianity is a very key piece in the puzzle of worldview. A piece which allows various aspects of life, design and the world around us to fit together smoothly and beautifully. The point of this article, then, is simply that the way truth is handled through the Christian worldview is the only one that gives a designer with a cohesive worldview the flexibility to be great. All other views of truth limit the reach of what that designer can do. Matt, this was a great article. I hope I have not misspoken about your intentions. Thanks again!
Posted By: Matthew Grffin on 07/11/08
Well put, Wes.
Posted By: Clubturk.net-2. Seo Yarismasi on 04/27/09
Nice post. Makes perfect logical sense.