Belief and Understanding
- reasonedutopia
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 1
- Joined: April 3rd, 2018, 4:43 pm
Re: Belief and Understanding
Most certainly. In fact, I would assert that beliefs are the cause of nearly all of society's discord and misery. Beliefs are assumed truths – convictions without proof or evidence and are tenacious. The fact that one refers to them as "beliefs" signifies that they are untrue and best promptly eliminated.
In my lexicon, Understanding is the opposite of belief. I claim I understand something when it is backed up by scientific proof and/or observable fact. Or, I can use facts in hand to arrive at a well deduced understanding of certain matters (hypothesis or theory).
Atreyu, on my website "A Reasoned Utopia", I write about striving for a better society or Utopia, as I alluringly label it. I assert that Utopia can exist only if all inhabitants are enlightened (i.e. able to reason clearly and objectively). Ergo, it is incumbent on all who desire Utopia to strive to become enlightened. Enlightenment can be attained by eliminating ones beliefs which corrupt and bias the ability to reason clearly and objectively. My essays focus on how beliefs affect ones reasoning, obstacles to confronting them and how to confront and eliminate them.
Feel free to peruse my writing at www.reasonedutopia.com. Some of the essays are a tad rough around the edges as I put up my web site only last month and am still "organizing" it.
Burning Ghost, I have a concrete answer to your question "Does knowledge come before belief, or belief before knowledge?" Belief comes before knowledge. Darkness comes before light. Once you are enlightened in the light, you will forever be out of the darkness.........
- Vivek7
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 14
- Joined: August 3rd, 2017, 4:07 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
- Commonsense2
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 14
- Joined: July 6th, 2017, 10:27 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
- jerlands
- Posts: 431
- Joined: December 12th, 2017, 10:56 pm
Re: Belief and Understanding
Belief and understanding my be similar to to catching the scent of a flower and then discovering where it comes from. We witness things in the world, for instance, a river flooding and see the damage then think of ways to mitigate. Solutions usually result from prior experience and our application is belief it will work but the correct solution only comes from complete understanding.Burning ghost wrote: ↑March 10th, 2018, 3:07 am Anselm said I must believe so that I can understand and this was countered by Abelard:
"no one can believe something which he has not first understood."
Viktor Schauberger "Comprehend and Copy Nature"
- Cosmogenes
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 13
- Joined: February 7th, 2017, 1:23 pm
Re: Belief and Understanding
As a "born-again skeptic", I prefer to weigh the available evidence and, rather than a forming a "belief", I am satisfied with a provisional stipulation.
- Burning ghost
- Posts: 3065
- Joined: February 27th, 2016, 3:10 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
Really this boils down to the nascent form of knowledge. The idea and skeptical thought comes from a freedom beyond the mere evidence at hand, yet it never abandons the evidence at hand completely only widens exploration. In this sense belief is inhibiting if, and only if, it is stretched beyond the reach of the current understanding.
- Commonsense2
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 14
- Joined: July 6th, 2017, 10:27 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
I think I am not using the word “understanding” the same way you are. What does the word mean to you, please?Burning ghost wrote: ↑April 9th, 2018, 12:00 am We believe things because there is a need to believe things. The actual experience of life makes us seek understanding and from that understanding comes a more constricted belief.
- Burning ghost
- Posts: 3065
- Joined: February 27th, 2016, 3:10 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
- nw123
- New Trial Member
- Posts: 2
- Joined: May 4th, 2018, 5:33 pm
Re: Belief and Understanding
While I am no philosopher, I, in my opinion, see a futility in this thought process. Belief and understanding are coupled together. Take for example the Christian faith. They believe that God exists based on their understanding of the Bible and the necessity of belief in their religion. In that point, they understand that belief, or faith, is necessary because God is not able to be understood by a limited human mind. In this way they complement each other.ProgrammingGodJordan wrote: ↑March 11th, 2018, 12:42 am Belief is a nonsensical paradigm that generally facilitates that one ignores evidence, as per definition and research.
As well, if belief is not a viable option, then is there something to take its place? If someone says, "trust me", am I not allowed to trust or believe them? How can I have faith in anyone or anything? As I search for an alternative myself, I can not think of something to replace "belief". Without belief or belief in something greater, it seems that the possibility for meaning for anyone's life is not possible and that is truly depressing. Life then becomes pointless. Morals and laws are then subjective.
This is my first or many posts through which I am attempting to expand and challenge any views I may hold.
- Thinking critical
- Posts: 1793
- Joined: November 7th, 2011, 7:29 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: A.C Grayling
- Location: Perth, Australia (originally New Zealand)
Re: Belief and Understanding
False belief would indicate you have misunderstood the proposition where as a true belief would mean you have understood. We then have belief in the absence of any form of understanding which could be considered as faith. The rational or irrational belief would be contingent on reason, why do you believe the proposition is true? The reasoning behind the rational/irrational belief is influenced by the competency of the understanding and the willingness to accept the conclusions which the understanding provides.
I would the argue that a true belief is defined as knowledge, therefore the more we understand something the less reliant we are on belief and the proposition becomes knowledge.
- Felix
- Posts: 3117
- Joined: February 9th, 2009, 5:45 am
Re: Belief and Understanding
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023