certainty

[miriam_e]

It seems to me that to believe in something is to become certain that thing is correct. But certainty is a strange thing. It is a little like trying to trap the wind in a metal box -- the minute you do, it is no longer the wind. The act of believing, driven by this desire for certainty, almost guarantees wrongness. Human knowledge of the real world constantly changes and refines. The only way to be even close to genuine understanding is to always seek it as information blows restlessly about you -- enjoy the wind for what it is.

Don't mistake that for relativism though. Relativism is the opposite to genuine truth, and supposes that any old belief is as good as any other and that people can settle for whatever "truth" suits them. It is a huge mistake. It gives up on real knowledge.

Comments

[gillen.livejournal.com]

And yet, something is correct - and it's the same thing that was correct yesterday. Human opinion changes and in some isolated cases becomes actual knowledge. Belief in changeable things is mistaken. Belief in the adaptable things is fine so long as one's belief is similarly adabtable. Belief in the unchanging things is not only acceptable, but necessary.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Sure. Something is correct.
Depending on what we think we understood it to be, it might be the same thing as yesterday, but it is a bit hard to know for sure. Our knowledge accumulates as we discard (mostly) mistaken beliefs. As our knowledge grows it is no guarantee of being correct. (The epicyclic movements of planets being seen as wheels within wheels are a great example of that.)

Belief in unchanging things can be convenient for many people which is no big problem if those things really don't change, but if they do alter then it causes terrible problems. The difficulty is in working out what is changeable and what isn't. In reality we can never truly know.

The best way is to stop looking for false certainty and simply go with the best data for now. It is tremendously freeing. Many people think "question everything" is terrifying, but it is exhilarating -- it breathes life into the world and blows the dust and cobwebs off.

[gillen.livejournal.com]

] As our knowledge grows it is no guarantee of being correct.

I'm working from a position that says if it isn't correct, it isn't knowledge but rather false opinion. If it is correct it may still not be knowledge, but only true opinion... it all depends on whether your reason for believing it to be true is the same reason that it actually is true.

[qu-is.livejournal.com]

question everything. yes, I agree.

It is great to see this articulated so well. I broke mine down into a relatively simplistic statement along the same lines.

Question everything: a belief is simply a theory that has not been questioned in a while.

works for me - currently. :)

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

Nice. :)
I like your definition.
Some beliefs are never questioned... but that's still 'a while'. In that case 'not ever' is a very, very long while.

[qu-is.livejournal.com]

exactly.

It's simplified, and I think it preferable to leave the option open for improvement, therefore if some one has never questioned their belief structure or a particular belief I think that they can take the hint that nows the time to do it.

Not that I usually share my opinions on such things unless invited... I have very strong opinions and yet am always interested in testing them against other peoples ideas - I only share mine to people who share their ideas in a way that allows others to have their own ideas - in a way that encourages discussion. Grow and change: live.

Thanks for sharing your ideas. :)