Ben Shapiro’s famous catchphrase, “Facts don’t care about your feelings,” can be purchased printed on mugs, shirts, and even tattoos. It’s become a statement for conservative Americans who feel cowed into silence by what they see as an oppressive culture of political correctness.
I take issue with this line, not because it makes me feel bad, but because it’s conceptually wrong according to the ancient civilization to which both Ben Shapiro and I belong.
The Jewish Understanding of Truth
If Shapiro could understand that “Judaism” is more than just Christianity without Jesus, he would know that it goes far beyond just an “acts-based religion” – the Jewish people don’t just have mitzvot to make us better people and also believe in the sovereignty of God (both ideas summarized from the video linked above).
Without even getting into the problematic understanding of the purpose of mitzvot and the concept of a Creator, I have to point out that the Jewish people have an entirely unique worldview, culture, philosophy, and general understanding of how the world and people work.
In Jewish thought, Truth – with a capital T – is the compilation of every smaller truth. Two plus two equals four is true. An even number plus an even number equals an even number is not not only also true, but it’s a greater, more inclusive truth. It includes not just 2+2=4, but also 4+6=10 and 8+62=70 and 2+1,000,000=1,000,002. The more inclusive a truth is of other truths, the “truer” it is.
Everyone Has an Individual Truth
The same goes for individuals’ truths. The true reality is the compilation of the smaller realities experienced by every human being. Mine, and yours, and that kid’s down the street, and the billions of other realities that exist in the world. And what are these realities? I’ll give a hint: they’re not just facts. Rabbi Avraham Yitzḥak HaKohen Kook teaches that the way we perceive the world – our reality – is a direct effect of how we experience the world. In other words, our feelings; facts may, in fact, care about our feelings.
I’ll give an example. I don’t particularly like writing. I used to, until I had a very strict 11th grade English teacher. My feelings after having received a less-than-desirable grade on an essay (disappointment, discouragement) affected not only my enjoyment of writing, but my actual ability.
Even as I write this, I’m second-guessing every word choice and I’m constantly disappointed in the outcomes. In my mind, this piece isn’t very good. You might agree that it’s lousy (perhaps because you disagree with my conclusions or perhaps because I really am a poor writer) or you may disagree and think it’s great (perhaps because you agree with my conclusions or perhaps because you know me personally and are inclined to like what I produce).
Here are the facts: my grammar and spelling are spot on, I take care to use the Oxford comma, the APA requires the use of the Oxford comma, I don’t mistakenly type two spaces between sentences, and the design of this website makes reading articles easy on the eyes. But what you think of this article doesn’t care about those facts. It cares about your feelings. Your reality – your personal truth – is what you think of this article, and it is deeply, deeply affected by your feelings.
My Facts Care About Your Feelings
This is what truth means in Hebrew thought. One’s truth is not merely a collection of facts that are relevant to him alone. A person’s truth is how they experience all of those facts and how those facts affect their life. The greater, higher Truth is one that accepts, embraces, and makes space for all the smaller, personal truths.
As a Jew who understands that there is more to life than just accepting a monotheistic sovereign and doing the seemingly random “acts” that we were Divinely commanded to do, I believe it’s my duty to discover and come closer to that greater Truth. As such, I have no choice but to care about your feelings. The integrity of my facts depends on them.
