Is the truth special?
Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers provides answers. In Talking to Strangers, Gladwell takes on veracity.
One takeaway from Gladwell’s exploration is that truth- the concept- is inextricably intertwined into humanity’s fabric. The human connection to the truth is not only profound, it may be biological. Humans, as the book reveals, possess a tendency to believe others.
There however is a downside to this human-truth connection. Believing others makes people susceptible to deception.
Was this inclination the reason for societies legislating honesty? For instance, is this why justice systems swear in witnesses before they testify?
Gladwell’s Observations
Gladwell’s book examines psychological studies. They reveal that people essentially default towards believing others. In other words, humans tend to give others (including strangers) the benefit of the doubt.
This behavior, however, amounts to a doubled-edged sword. While there are benefits to believing others, the proclivity makes people vulnerable. In essence, this behavior opens the door to con-artists and deceivers gaining an undue advantage over believing masses.
Gladwell also employs case studies to better understand truth discernment. He reports on a U.S. Intelligence Cuban spy scandal, the Bernie Madoff financial scandal, and the downfall accused sexual abuser Dr. Larry Nassar to figure out as to why ascertaining the truth, in certain circumstances, can be quite difficult.
To find answers to how veracity is problematic, Gladwell turned to researchers.
The Truth-Default
Gladwell cites Researcher Tim Levine on the truth’s value.
Levine described a human phenomenon surrounding the truth. He labeled it as the Truth Default Theory. The central most idea of Truth Default Theory is that people default to the truth, or at least truth as they know it. Timothy R. Levine, Truth-Default Theory and The Psychology of Lying and Deception Detection, Current Opinion in Psychology, Volume 47,
2022.
Levine weighed the reality of this default. He noted: “[e]fficient communication on the other hand, has huge implication for our survival.” As such, a deception once in awhile is not going to change the genetic make-up. Taking to Strangers at P. 105. In other words, the world will not necessarily fall apart if 100 percent honesty is not possible.
In essence, the product of a truth-oriented society is efficient communication which creates a competitive advantage for conducting affairs. The biproduct is a target rich environment for bad actors.
Truth-Default Research
The article The Truth-Default is Ubiquitous, But Some People Experience It More Than Others, discusses the Truth Default Theory (TDT.) Taylor & Francis Online, Markovitz, Pages 313-323 | Published online: 10 Oct 2024,
The study’s researchers noted that “[t]he truth-default is ubiquitous, but some people experience it more than others.”
The article further noted that “[t]he functionality of human communication rests on the truth-default (Levine,…), a core premise underlying truth-default theory (TDT; Levine,…. According to the theory, most communication is honest and passively accepted as honest.”
Given there is a truth-default in operation, one must ponder as to “what would be the consequences of removing the truth-default from society?” Mr. Gladwell takes time to explore this issue as well as the consequences of the truth-default.
The Truth-Default’s Downside
The truth-default’s problem is that deceivers don’t always get caught. Beyond that problem, the default can delay the exposure of malicious individuals.
From Gladwell’s case studies, the failure to protect the truth proved to have dire consequences. His studies’ fallouts included a compromised intelligence agency, a massive financial scandal, and numerous child molestations.
With Gladwell’s particular case studies, Gladwell finds commonality. Human’s tendency to default to the truth retarded individuals’ abilities to detect the deception or malfeasance. In essence, some long drawn-out scandals may be tied to the fact that people often gave others the benefit of the doubt.
This truth-default can be further compounded by the deceiver’s standing within the community. Gladwell’s stories included a beloved football coach from a nationally recognized program as well as a well-known doctor who treated Olympians.
The truth-default research essentially reveals that it is not a static phenomenon.
This leads to the question as to what would occur is the truth-default did not exist.
The Truth-Default Removed
Gladwell also takes the time to venture into the world of disbelievers. People who do not default to the truth. He looks into what it would be like to being distrustful of others.
Challenging the truth, as Gladwell reveals, can be troubling. There are consequences for individuals who are disbelievers.
To make this point, he talks of an individual who recognized early on that Madoff was a fraud. For him, the truth did not set him free. Rather, Gladwell describes him as becoming paranoid and entrapped by conspiracy. This man feared that people were out to get him.
The measures this individual took to protect himself were difficult for most humans to swallow. Gladwell’s example demonstrated that removing the truth default for an individual has emotionally crippling effects.
Beyond that, the societal erosion of the truth is also troubling.
The Truth’s Consequences
The truth-default’s erosion is problematic. It is possible that pervasive societal lies can cause people to become distrustful; loss their truth-default.
There are many causes that can give rise to this problem. Governments lacking transparency, a faltering justice system, and social media promoting false narrative are all disruptive to people’s beliefs. Pervasive dishonesty can lead to societal discord.
Given this, one must appreciate that each and every failure by the government to be forthcoming impacts the populace’s truth-default. In turn, this impacts societal transactional efficiency. Likewise, unhinged and irresponsible media platforms open the door towards further discord.
Conclusion
Humans’ psychological default towards believing others presents as a dilemma. While this tendency allows for transactional efficiency, it comes, however, with at a cost. Truth-based societies are susceptible to bad actors. Disreputable people can cause pervasive trustworthiness.
As Malcolm Gladwell offers up in his case studies, the downside of being receptive to the truth can lead to disastrous resulting that can occur in any segment of society. Gladwell’s examples included government intelligence agencies, finance, youth activities, to medicine.
Further, when a society has truth issue, it can create an atmosphere for pervasive societal distrust and conspiratorial thought. With this, a society loses transactional efficiency. Commerce, communication and justice systems will collapse.
Looking towards the past, and societies concerns over truthfulness, one must wonder, without the benefit of scientific confirmation, whether civilization’s appreciation of the truth-default was the basis for legislation. Likewise, was the concern with this default something that gave rise to two provisions concerning veracity to be placed within the Ten Commandments?
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