Axiom: God = Truth.
Step 1) God = Torah.
Step 2) Torah = Truth.
Step 3) Chazal = Torah = Truth.
Step 4) Mesorah = Chazal = Torah = Truth.
Step 5) Reality = Truth.
Step 6) Science = Reality = Truth.
Step 7) Truth ≠ Truth?
Possibility #1) God ≠ Torah. This is the simplest approach, and it is taken by the Reform. Steps 2-4 can now be disregarded. Due to serious theological and empirical grounds, Orthodoxy denies this possibility's possibility.
Possibilty #2) Chazal ≠ Torah, but Torah = Truth. This is the approach of the rationalists. Not all of the statements of Chazal = Torah, so Chazal don't necessarily = Truth.
Possibilty #3) Mesorah ≠ Chazal, but Chazal does
= or
≠ Torah, which itself does = Truth. This sort of goes hand in hand with the previous possibility; i.e. that since according to Yeshivists-Mesorah says that Chazal = Truth, it must be that we have the Mesorah confused. [My personal opinion is that the societal and halacha aspects of the Mesorah died in the Holocaust, while the theological/ philosophical Mesorah (which seems to have always been split into multiple approaches) died in the Haskalah and the Jewish Counter - Haskalah.]
Possibility #4) Mesorah = Chazal = Torah ≠ Reality. This is the approach generally prescribed to the Maharal, or in more recent Gedolim, Rav Moshe Shapiro. It pretty much means that all statements of Chazal which may seem to contradict reality, were not in fact trying to accurately portray reality, however, they still do have true Torah lessons and morals imbued in them.[ This approach is somewhat mixable with rationalism, such as when it comes to things like heliocentricity (i.e. that Chazal didn't care about the specific scientce, but only about the importance of man being the purpose of all of creation), however when it comes to things likes bats laying eggs, it is harder to mix the two ("non-realists," would claim that there is a deeper meaning, while rationalists would say that it does appear to be so, and that this seems to simply be a mistaken scientific statement.)]
Possibility #5) Science = Reality, but Reality ≠ Truth. This world is a world of sheker. I'm not really sure I get this one. Unless you say this goes hand in hand with #4, I'm not sure why Chazal spent so much time talking about a world of falsehood...
Possibility #6) Science ≠ Reality, and therefore Science ≠ Truth. This is generally the approach taken by Yeshivists. Some take it to more extremes than others. Some view Science as a lesser source in comparison to Chazal as to what reality is. When they are not in disagreement, everything is fine. When they appear to contradict, Chazal has precedence. Others will claim a blanket statement that science is completely inaccurate, and has no validity whatsoever.
