We’ve been talking (in our previous blog posts) about knowing–to be more precise, we’ve been talking about epistemology.
episteme = "knowledge" (Greek)
ology = "the study of" (such as biology, psychology, sociology, etc.)
Take a look at our Mind Inputs sheet (https://thinkingaccuratelyeducation.comindex.php/product/mind-inputs/). Where do you go for knowledge? People often say, “you are what you eat.” We could say that looking at how you fill out the sheet will also tell us your epistemological position or worldview.
worldview: a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.
Everyone has a worldview from which they view the world–and the universe, for that matter!–around them (a perspective).
In our last blog post, we began to talk about knowing–specifically, knowing if something is true. I would like to further point out that this is particularly important in direct relation to the consequences involved.
For example, I have often been involved in the ketchup/mustard controversy that surrounds the eating of hot dogs.. You see, most of our kids are in the ketchup camp, while my wife and I have always come down on the side of mustard (especially with onions or sauerkraut!) But really, what does it matter? What is the big deal? As my stepfather used to say:
It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
But think of other, more serious issues, like voting, or family or religious matters. The stakes are higher, as are people’s passions. And the consequences of our ideas, and our decisions are more serious.
consequences: " a result or effect of an action or condition," " importance or relevance." (Bing)
How do we know if we’re right?
I suggest that it is–ultimately–a matter of authority, and since each of us is responsible for our own decisions, we each get to decidewho to give authority to. And we all do, everyday, about all kinds of issues:
authority:"the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience," "the power to influence others, especially because of one's commanding manner or one's recognized knowledge about something," "official permission; sanction." (Bing)
Here are examples of examples of things or people to whom we tend to grant authority:
experts
books/authors
magazines/newspapers
movies/TV
news
science/scientists
doctors
experience
tradition
parents
pastors
priests
presidents
rabbis
teachers
society
consensus
intuition
revelation
The question that comes to mind is Why?And how do we know that our authorities are right?
Isn’t all knowing really a matter of believing and trust?
belief: "an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists,""something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction,""trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something."
trust:"firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something," "believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of."
Do yourself a favor. Give this some consideration. Be willing to wonder if–perhaps-you might be granting a bit too much authority to someone who might–possibly–be a tiny bit less reliable that you first thought they were. Just think about it, will you?
People seem to disagree about so many things. And, often, people seem to have such strong opinions on subjects we may not have thought about, or have not even heard about! How can we know what to think, or how to think (accurately)?
For example, I think of myself as being a certain height, a certain weight, and a certain age. Why? What is the basis of my ideas?
basis: "the underlying support or foundation for an idea, argument, or process" (Bing)
I have always thought of myself as having been born on a certain date–the date my family always celebrated as my “birthday,” even before I was really old enough to think about it much. We always had a cake, and there usually were gifts. And my parents or older siblings were often there, laughing at amusing stories about other birthdays, years ago. Everyone acknowledged that date as my birthday–there seemed be a solid consensus.
consensus: "a general agreement," "agreement, harmony, concord, like-mindedness" (Bing)
A few years ago, our family started looking into our family tree, and we discovered that my wife’s grandfather’s birth date is somewhat open to question. We’ve got all kinds of records–government-issued documents, but many of them disagree with each other. We’re not 100% sure when he was born! And to make matters worse, it appears that he actually changed his name somewhere along the way. All of this made me stop and think.
What do you believe to be true? Why? What do you base your beliefs on? How reliable is the basis for your ideas? In this blog, I invite you to embark on a journey with me as we think about these kinds of things together.
