ABSTRACT
The idea of an 'information interface' brings to the forefront of attention the considerations of 'seems' and what is 'apparently' happening. Truth, or reality, features in the information interface because humans commonly have a pressing interest in discerning the truth, and of acting in accordance with what is possible, given the realities. The bargaining process is carried on by individuals and groups, who bring to negotiations their own frames of reference. The analysis of support-bargaining and money-bargaining suggests that truth is so elusive, even when measured by consistency, that the assembly of support, implying concerns about social or intellectual ascendancy, can become the prime concern of even the most ardent chaser of truth. The conflict over the human interest in truth and the human interest in social ascendancy, the latter displayed in the pursuit of support for non-truth interests, has a parallel in debates over the pursuit of truth and the pursuit of agreement.
