The Concepts of Belief, Certainty, and Knowledge
TOK Essay
Jeana Joy Tan
Belief has been described as “certainty about what cannot be seen”. Does this statement hold true any, some or all areas of knowledge?
Over the years, philosophers have tried to grapple with the concepts of belief, certainty and knowledge. Despite numerous controversial claims and arguments that come from both sides, we have yet to come upon a general consensus. However, the contention here is that belief can contribute to all areas of knowledge.
Even though belief can be associated with all areas of knowledge, it is a complex concept that exists in different degrees and preconditions. Therefore not all kinds of beliefs can contribute to knowledge as there are certain limitations we need to be aware of. Just as how children believe in Santa Claus, tooth fairies and Easter bunnies, a baseless belief is one that cannot contribute to any areas of knowledge because it does not necessarily require any epistemic logic or reasoning. One only needs to believe something to be true based on almost any form of justification or none at all as Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “I confused things with their names: that is belief.” World War II, the Crusades and the 9/11 are glaring examples of the monstrous atrocities that can be committed when one believes in something without any moral common sense. This is of course, not an attack on religion, but rather the interpretation of religion. People are susceptible to gullibility when it comes to believing the radical teachings of another person as they don’t take the initiative to question and examine the justifications to these teachings.
And as social animals, we have always held belief to a certain degree and the dangerous thing about belief is that it can overpower one’s ability to reason to an extent that even in the face of contrary evidence, he will continue to believe it. Although a belief supported by scientific evidence represents a benign form of belief, it also acts as a
Jeana Joy Tan
Belief has been described as “certainty about what cannot be seen”. Does this statement hold true any, some or all areas of knowledge?
Over the years, philosophers have tried to grapple with the concepts of belief, certainty and knowledge. Despite numerous controversial claims and arguments that come from both sides, we have yet to come upon a general consensus. However, the contention here is that belief can contribute to all areas of knowledge.
Even though belief can be associated with all areas of knowledge, it is a complex concept that exists in different degrees and preconditions. Therefore not all kinds of beliefs can contribute to knowledge as there are certain limitations we need to be aware of. Just as how children believe in Santa Claus, tooth fairies and Easter bunnies, a baseless belief is one that cannot contribute to any areas of knowledge because it does not necessarily require any epistemic logic or reasoning. One only needs to believe something to be true based on almost any form of justification or none at all as Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “I confused things with their names: that is belief.” World War II, the Crusades and the 9/11 are glaring examples of the monstrous atrocities that can be committed when one believes in something without any moral common sense. This is of course, not an attack on religion, but rather the interpretation of religion. People are susceptible to gullibility when it comes to believing the radical teachings of another person as they don’t take the initiative to question and examine the justifications to these teachings.
And as social animals, we have always held belief to a certain degree and the dangerous thing about belief is that it can overpower one’s ability to reason to an extent that even in the face of contrary evidence, he will continue to believe it. Although a belief supported by scientific evidence represents a benign form of belief, it also acts as a