I think it’s quite amazing that a simple question can lead to a whole can of worms that no one on Earth wants to get involved with. No one except me, that is. This is just the kind of thing I live for.
What is the difference between knowledge, belief, and truth? It’s a simple enough question, on the surface. However, we all know that you can’t hold things at face value, so let’s jump on in and start by defining the words.
Truth is a piece of factual information. In other words, no matter what, if something is true, no piece of evidence will ever prove it to be false. If I were to say that I’m typing this on a computer, no piece of evidence you provide will be able to prove that statement untrue. Therefore, it is a completely true statement. Of course, there are subjective truths and partial truths, but for the sake of argument, we’ll leave those be for now.
Next, we’ll get into beliefs. A belief is a thought that a person thinks is true, but may not necessarily be factual. Some beliefs are impossible to prove, even though they may be true. However, there are some beliefs that exist outside of the realm of truth. For example, if someone were to tell me that sky was falling, I could believe that statement without it actually being true. In fact, a lot of beliefs are not true.
What is knowledge? Is it founded on beliefs? Or is it founded on truth? If you guessed
C) all of the above, I think you’d be right. Knowledge exists as a combination of belief and truth. If I know that my computer is a Dell, I believe that statement, and it is true. It is impossible to know something that is untrue. I can’t know that my computer is a Mac, because it isn’t. To know something, you have to have some kind of evidence to prove that it is true. I know my computer is a Dell because the word “Dell” is all over it and I bought it from Dell. If I believe that my computer is a Mac, I can’t know that fact. On the flip side, If it is true that my computer is a Dell, but I don’t believe that fact, I can’t know that it is a Dell. You can’t know something that isn’t true, but you can’t know something that you don’t believe either.
Now let me draw a picture in your mind. I’ll warn you now that we’re about to get into a little bit of controversy, so if you’d rather not like to talk about it, I suggest you leave now.
The existence of God is something that many people across the world over. Christians, Muslims, and Jews all believe that God exist. That is a belief. However, since there is no concrete proof to remove all doubt from the belief of his existence, the existence of God can be no more than a belief. It is possible that it is true, but since there’s no way to prove it, no one can know that. Hence, the existence of God may be both a belief and a truth, but it cannot be something that is known.
What is the true relation between knowledge, truth, and belief? I’m not so sure that it’s something that has a definite answer. At least, that’s my belief on the subject.
On a side note, it’s quite humorous how a 100 word assignment can turn into over 600 words.
What is the difference between knowledge, belief, and truth? It’s a simple enough question, on the surface. However, we all know that you can’t hold things at face value, so let’s jump on in and start by defining the words.
Truth is a piece of factual information. In other words, no matter what, if something is true, no piece of evidence will ever prove it to be false. If I were to say that I’m typing this on a computer, no piece of evidence you provide will be able to prove that statement untrue. Therefore, it is a completely true statement. Of course, there are subjective truths and partial truths, but for the sake of argument, we’ll leave those be for now.
Next, we’ll get into beliefs. A belief is a thought that a person thinks is true, but may not necessarily be factual. Some beliefs are impossible to prove, even though they may be true. However, there are some beliefs that exist outside of the realm of truth. For example, if someone were to tell me that sky was falling, I could believe that statement without it actually being true. In fact, a lot of beliefs are not true.
What is knowledge? Is it founded on beliefs? Or is it founded on truth? If you guessed
C) all of the above, I think you’d be right. Knowledge exists as a combination of belief and truth. If I know that my computer is a Dell, I believe that statement, and it is true. It is impossible to know something that is untrue. I can’t know that my computer is a Mac, because it isn’t. To know something, you have to have some kind of evidence to prove that it is true. I know my computer is a Dell because the word “Dell” is all over it and I bought it from Dell. If I believe that my computer is a Mac, I can’t know that fact. On the flip side, If it is true that my computer is a Dell, but I don’t believe that fact, I can’t know that it is a Dell. You can’t know something that isn’t true, but you can’t know something that you don’t believe either.
Now let me draw a picture in your mind. I’ll warn you now that we’re about to get into a little bit of controversy, so if you’d rather not like to talk about it, I suggest you leave now.
The existence of God is something that many people across the world over. Christians, Muslims, and Jews all believe that God exist. That is a belief. However, since there is no concrete proof to remove all doubt from the belief of his existence, the existence of God can be no more than a belief. It is possible that it is true, but since there’s no way to prove it, no one can know that. Hence, the existence of God may be both a belief and a truth, but it cannot be something that is known.
What is the true relation between knowledge, truth, and belief? I’m not so sure that it’s something that has a definite answer. At least, that’s my belief on the subject.
On a side note, it’s quite humorous how a 100 word assignment can turn into over 600 words.
1 comments:
Quite humorous indeed. You've written a very articulate distinction here. Congrats, you are now an 11th grade philosopher who is dabbling into the trench of epistemology.
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