Revisiting "Truth and Society" Hosted by Eden G. ’25

For her GIP capstone project, Eden G. ‘25 facilitated a lively conversation on “Truth and Society” at Poly on March 13th, bringing together three distinguished panelists: Ursula Angell, a political consultant; Gary Kornblau, a professor at Art Center, College of Design; and Ken Bensinger, an investigative journalist for The New York Times. These three panelists provided thought-provoking perspectives on how truth disseminates, who gets to decide what truth is, and if there is a difference between truth and fact.

Mr. Bensinger shared the ethical dilemmas journalists face when determining what truths to pursue, highlighting how even the best news outlets struggle to convey facts in a way that is untainted by preconceived notions. Ethical journalists often have to set aside their personal truths and refrain from telling a story that fits a narrative they believe. 

Ms. Angell spoke on truth and morality and explained how truth is normative—a social construct we all agree upon, not necessarily an objective reality. Angell expounded that morality is a form of truth, albeit one that is focused on cultural and societal understanding.

Professor Kornblau then shifted the discussion towards how, as part of human nature, we often defer to authorities—teachers, parents, politicians—as the arbiters of truth. But just as it is human nature to seek out truth tellers for social cohesion, it is also human nature to be fallible, and we should strive to achieve a balance between relying on others for truth and finding truth in one’s own opinions.

Eden further challenged the panelists by questioning whether facts are separate from truth, and all three panelists had differing opinions. Ms. Angell claimed that facts do not exist, only the agreed upon interpretation of those facts, essentially “truth,” exists. Mr. Bensinger, on the other hand, saw the two as completely separate concepts but asserted that what people believe is the truth ends up being more important than what the facts are. Professor Kornblau took the middle ground by mentioning that to get anything done, humans have to make a distinction between truth and fact, and even if there are no facts, for the sake of social cohesion, humans must agree on some. Kornblau further asserted that where people draw the line between truth and fact is what creates differences in perspective.

“For my own benefit, completing this Capstone Project fulfilled my desire to learn more about the role of the American intelligence community in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and to augment my recognition of the present ‘truth crisis’ with the knowledge of experts in the truth field,” said Eden. “Part of my stated objective for the panel was to deconstruct the audience’s understanding of ‘truth,’ and each panelist took on this challenge in the context of their own profession and personal philosophy.”

Poly is grateful to the panelists for their thoughtful contributions and to Eden for sparking such a rich and challenging dialogue. In an era where popularity rather than factual accuracy determines what is “true,” this conversation served as a timely opportunity to reflect on the importance of resisting disinformation and seeking truth.