Truth or Preference

“Education is radically misconstrued, though people have concerned themselves with its aims and written about its purposes since the time of Plato.  The chief educational motive is the imaginative act we call learning; the chief educational responsibility is the perpetuation and extension of culture” (Donald Cowan, Unbinding Prometheus, 3).

“According to a recent poll, 66 percent of Americans believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Among young adults, the percentage is even higher.  To disbelieve in truth is, of course, self-contradictory.  To believe means to think something is true; to say, it's true that nothing is true is intrinsically meaningless nonsense.  The very statement - there is no absolute truth - is an absolute truth” (Gene Edward Veith Jr, Postmodern Times, 17).   

The tension between resistance to change and embracing a new philosophy has shaped human thought throughout history. Today, two fundamental worldviews compete for dominance in education and society: Modernism and Postmodernism. The Modern perspective maintains that objective facts and universal truths exist and can be discovered through rational inquiry.

In contrast, Postmodernism challenges this notion, arguing that what we call "truth" is largely shaped by cultural context and personal perspective. While Postmodern educators emphasize self-expression and creative interpretation, their Modern counterparts prioritize subject mastery and objective standards of knowledge.

What do you think?  Does absolute truth exist?  Are our beliefs just preference or do we have reliable methods of inquiry?