TRUTH FOR HUMAN EXISTENCE AND HAPPINESS

About the Book

This book is a response to postmodernists who take the position that there is no foundation for truth; there are only stories. We posit two types of truth, truth about existence created by scientists, which serves as a foundation of truth for existence. Truth about existence describes human nature, a major component being the human sense of self. Following George Herbert Mead, the self is not an entity, it is process. It is not substantative; it is functional. There are two phases to the self, the “I” phase and the “Me”-phase. The “I”- phase has its roots in biology, so when the needs of the self are not being gratified, individuals suffer. When individuals suffer, life is without meaning; individuals despair. It is human needs and their inherent tie to suffering that points the way to truth for human existence and happiness. Because other people value what they need, needs and their corresponding values serve as the foundation for truth about existence upon which truth for human existence is constructed.

About the Author

Paul is emeritus professor of sociology at Kent State University where, for a time, he was chairperson of The Department of Sociology and Anthropology. He was also vice president of The North Central Sociological Association. He is the author of Critical Thinking About Divorce, Lee Harvey Oswald and the American Dream, Control: The Basis of Social Order, and Control and Constraint: An Introduction to Sociology During the sixties and seventies, he was active in the Civil Rights Movement and, for a number of years, he was chairperson of the board of trustees of the local Community Action Council, an organization dedicated to improving the lot of what Jesus called the least of these. Danny has a masters degree in sociology and has passed the qualifying examination for a Ph. D. He is an accomplished artist, in both painting and sculpture. His last exhibit in Cleveland, Ohio was a critique of contemporary art and society. During the sixties and seventies, Danny was active in the Civil Rights Movement, along with participating in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. He was, as they now say, “on the ground,” May 4, l970, when some of his fellow students were wounded and killed by the Ohio National Guard.