1. Mangharam
What Is Truth?
Roger Ebert believed reality is subjective, and truth is based on human
interpretation. Errol Morris believed truth and reality are independent from human
perception; it is absolute and entirely impartial. In Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon
(1950), four different and contradicting stories are told to explain the death of the
Samurai. The viewers attempt to discover the truth of the situation. Unfortunately,
humans are subjective to eyewitness testimonies, the selectivity of perception, and
are influenced by their own motivations. I agree with Ebert, because truth is
significantly influenced by human interpretation and based on the mind of the
interpreter.
Truth can be affected by the concept of eyewitness testimonies. Eyewitness
testimonies are a fallibility of perception that puts faith in witnesses to determine
what happened and didn’t happen. The uses of eyewitness testimonies are common
in criminal cases. In the movie, the bandit, woodcutter, wife and samurai give their
own testimonies of the situation. When recalling upon a memory, our mind
reconstructs what happened in order to store it. In the process of reconstruction, it
is inevitable to eliminate external factors. This demonstrates that our memory can
significantly influence what we think is the truth. In the movie, the bandit, the
Samurai and the wife all give different accounts of the dagger’s whereabouts after
the Samurai’s death. The bandit claims the wife protected herself with the dagger
but does not recall where the dagger is after the duel with the Samurai. Contrary to
this belief, the wife claimed to see the dagger in the samurai’s body last, before it
was removed by someone according to the Samurai’s message. While it is possible
that the Bandit saw the dagger, he may not remember it because his eye is not a
camera and he has reconstructed the memory, and therefore demonstrates the
subjectivity of the truth in regard to the daggers location.
Truth can be influenced by our perceptions. Our perceptions areselective as
out mind allows us to notice only some things and overlook others in our perceptual
field. Since we cannot see what we don’t see, we can only know what we see.It is
impossible for us to rid the factors influencing our perceptions because we don’t
have control over what we aren’t aware of. Despite this, what we perceive
influences what we believe. Our minds are selective; therefore people may notice
different things. In the movie, the character’s testimonies are based on what they
perceived in the situation. While the samurai and the wife claimed she was raped,
the bandit claimed the wife was seduced. The bandit’s interpretation of the woman’s
attitude toward him may have been perceived incorrectly, as he may have
misinterpreted her or unconsciously selected and perceived the wife’s positive
attitude toward him.
Humans are influenced by their motives when determining the truth.
Motivation is a key factor as it can influence people to say and do things that may
have, often, a more positive consequence. People are motivated by reason, not by
feelings, and can be motivated unconsciously. Since it is impossible to know one’s

2. Mangharam
true motivation, we can only depend on what a person says and does to determine
their motivation. In the movie, there are different accounts that explain what
happened to Samurai’s wife. The bandit claims the lady was seduced, and asked him
to fight her husband, the samurai, to make her feel better, and when he did the
woman ran away. The bandit’s point of view makes him sound innocent, as if he did
not do anything to the lady. Despite this, the Samurai and his wife claim that the
bandit raped her. If this is true, the bandit may have lied about not raping the
woman because he was motivated to. His motives may have been guilt, regret,
shame, or even an act of avoiding unnecessary trouble. In this situation, the
woodcutter may be the most reliable since he is not directly affected by the truth, as
it does not jeopardize his safety and his relationships with other people, as it would
for the others.
We cannot escape from the different factors influencing the truth. Since we
are ‘stuck in the cave’, it is impossible for us to reconstruct, perceive and be
motivated without our bias getting into the way. Truth cannot be objective, because
truth can change depending on the person or the situation. Truth cannot be
independent from human interpretation, because truth is what people perceive, and
it is impossible to escape human interpretation. Our vulnerability to our own
perceptions, whether we are or are not conscious of it, have a great impact on truth,
and therefore prohibit it from being anything but subjective.

3. Mangharam
Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. "Rashomon (1950)." Rogerebert.com. 26 May 2002. Web. 07 Mar. 2012.
<http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020526/REVIEWS
08/205260301/1023>.