Truth and perception

Truth has many faces: Changing perspectives and perceptions

At night, the greenest tree appears in black. The same applies in broad daylight when looking at distant trees. From different perspectives, truth presents itself in many different ways.

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Ancient philosophy to modern psychology

Thinkers in ancient Greece were already racking their brains over the concept of truth. Assuming that there really is a truth, it is clear that our perception is often far removed from it. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman's book "Fast thinking, slow thinking", which is well worth reading, illustrates our perceptual errors relentlessly, cleverly and vividly. Much more often than is generally assumed, people allow themselves to be deceived in their perception, fall into thinking traps and are satisfied with the seemingly obvious.

Establishing the truth in criminal proceedings

Nowhere is finding the truth more important than in criminal proceedings. A lot can be at stake here. Defense lawyers are often asked how they can reconcile representing a violent criminal or murderer with their conscience. If we approach the answer to this question from the perspective of truth and perception, it becomes more understandable that even the (seemingly?) worst criminal is entitled to serious and committed criminal defense. The task of the criminal defense lawyer is, among other things, to illuminate those facets of the truth that are beneficial to the client's point of view. It is important to prevent one-sided or distorted perceptions of reality on the part of the court from leading to a decision that is not justifiable for the client. Seen in this light, the public prosecutor and the defense lawyer ultimately pursue the same goal, namely justice. A just acquittal is worth just as much as a just conviction.

The following statement (1:13) by Dr. Kathrin Albrecht, partner at beelegal and criminal law expert, illustrates the illumination of a facet of the truth in the trial of one of her clients.