The RAT Assignment

• Although most people don't stop to think about this, the fact is that there are two different kinds of truth: Relative Truth (RT) and Real Absolute Truth (RAT).

• Relative Truth may be defined as "truth which depends," while Real Absolute Truth may be defined as "truth which does not depend." The statement "My name is Josh," for example, depends on who says (or writes) it: if your speech instructor says it, it's true, but if your mother says it, it probably isn't (unless, bizarrely enough, her name also happens for some reason to be Josh!). The statement "The United States is made up of 50 states" depends, not on who says it, but on when it's said: it's true this year, but it wasn't true in the year 1906 (and may not be in the year 2106). The statement "All human beings must die" depends on what is meant by the phrase "human beings" -- if I write the words "human beings" on the board, those human beings will never die (although they'll eventually be erased!).

• For this assignment, you are to submit at least one statement of absolute truth. Your statement(s) should be expressed in the form of complete sentences (which means that each statement should contain a subject and a verb, end with a period, and express a complete thought). Remember, what I'm looking for here is absolute truth, truth which doesn't depend on anything, truth which is true no matter what.

• Your statement(s) may be handwritten in ink, typed or wordprocessed. Pencil is not acceptable. A page number and the name you indicated on the first day of class that you'd like to be called should appear at the top of every page. No other heading is necessary. No staples or paperclips. If you're using paper from a spiral-bound notebook, please rip or cut off the little snowflakes at the left-hand edge of the page before you come to class on the day the assignment is due, rather than wasting class time to do so.

• As with the "picture" and "7 C's" assignments, what I'm looking for here is evidence that you're thinking. Whether or not you actually get this right, the more evidence you show me that you've thought about the difference between RT and RAT, the more credit you will earn. Less evidence of serious thought will earn less credit. Be aware that this is a challenging assignment!

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