Do I believe it?

Belief is the acceptance of a statement or concept. Belief can be strongly or weakly held, with differ-
ing degrees of emotional intensity. The strength of a belief, though, is NOT what tells us whether it is
true. Even a passionately held belief can be false.
To determine whether a belief is true, we have to consider on what it is based (i.e. its justification) and
to evaluate it using truth tests.
What is a good reason a justification for belief?
accepted source or authority? logical reasoning?
sense perception? observations made by yourself and others?
(evidence = observation + reasoning)
memory?
emotion? intuition?
divine revelation or Holy Books? faith?
A useful distinction:
Some justifications may be public, able to persuade people toward a common belief (e.g. evidence
in science). They can be publicly stated in language, demonstrated and repeated.
Some justications may be private, persuasive to the individual but not to all. (e.g. faith in religion).
This distinction between public and private applies to the type of justification whether or not it can be
demonstrated to others not the number of people who hold the belief. (e.g. More people may
believe a particular religion than believe a particular model of the atom.
Another useful distinction:
What is the difference between a statement of fact, a statement of values, and a metaphysical state-
ment? Do these different kinds of knowledge claims use different forms of justification? Are some of
them public, and some private?
A useful guide to evaluation:
To think critically about credibility, try the S-S-S approach: consider the Source, the Statements, and your Self.
I believe it, and it is justified, but is it true?
Truth is an ideal: a concept of knowledge that is completely reliable. It acts as a goal and an inspi-
ration in the quest for knowledge and the desire to understand.
But do we ever achieve truth? Would we know it if we did? In science, we say that our conclusions
are always open to being overturned by new evidence that our conclusions can be proved false (fal-
sified or refuted), but never proved true.
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One could argue that testing for truth is simply a closer examination of the nature of justification that
we simply have some beliefs that are better justified than others. The coherence test may be simply
an application of reasoning (one of our kinds of justification) and the correspondence test may be sim-
ply an application of observation and evidence (another kind of justification), and the pragmatic test
may be simply an application of a very practical form of reasoning (another form of justification).
The following three truth tests, though, are useful approaches to examining knowledge, complement-
ing the examination through justification.
1. COHERENCE TEST FOR TRUTH (Think!)
Coherence means a clear fit of all the parts with each other within a whole. A new statement is test-
ed by its consistency and harmony with other beliefs already held or with the body of research in an
area. Mathematics uses this truth test in a demand for freedom from contradiction. Science uses it
within theory. We also use it every day.
problem: Our past understanding, or the rest of the statements made in an area of knowledge, may
be incomplete or flawed with error.
2. CORRESPONDENCE TEST FOR TRUTH (Go check!)
Correspondence indicates a equation between the statements we make and the world to which they
refer. The statement is tested by observation. The sciences use this test in their demand for evi-
dence. We also use it every day.
problem: Our perceptions may be limited, mistaken, or biased. Even with careful observation, we
have not observed all possible cases.
3. PRAGMATIC TEST FOR TRUTH (Does it work?)
Pragmatic means useful or practical. The statement is tested by its practical benefit. The sci-
ences use this test in considering whether a hypothesis provides useful predictions, or whether a theo-
ry works in application (The airplane flies. The medicine cures.) We also use it every day.
problem: The test is useful in practical material circumstances (e.g. engineering) but becomes highly
subjective in other circumstances (e.g. It may be useful to believe that our race is superior or that God
has given us the land).
Definition of Knowledge as Justified True Belief
One definition that has had enormous influence is Platos, dating back to the ancient Greeks. He
maintained that knowledge was a particular subcategory of belief one that had been both justified
and proven true. Its hard to imagine in these days of scientific skepticism how this ideal definition of
knowledge could be achieved, but it does set up a goal and affirm an ideal.
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