I'm trying to write an essay on the statement: personal conviction cannot be changed by evidence alone.
I agree with this statement, on the basis that a personal belief is a strong part of the human being, and if someone has reached a conclusion or opinion then throwing evidence or facts at them will not easily alter their belief.
I'm confused however, about the relationship between the beliefs/convictions we form and knowledge. Everything we believe is based on knowledge, what we see and hear through other people's lives, the world around us and history, however isn't it also true that what we already believe will effect whether we choose to agree with evidence or knowledge presented to us?
How can you explain this relationship?
Can beliefs be based in knowledge, yet stronger than it?
Relationship between opinion/conviction and knowledge?
You said, %26quot;Everything we believe is based on knowledge, what we see and hear through other people's lives, the world around us and history....%26quot; The part you left out is what we see and hear in our own life. The is called, IIRC, anecdotal data/evidence. It is given very little weigh in the scientific community; empirical data is preferred instead.
Let me try an example (and remember I am just making the following up to illustrate): They say, %26quot;Never go to the store when you are hungry.%26quot;
Your own experience tells you, you still spend wisely.
The experience of your friends and family are mixed--they usually manage to spend wisely.
A study says, 8 out of 10 people spend unwisely when hungry, overspending and/or buying junk food.
Another study compared the average weight of those who shop in the morning and those in the evening and found the morning shoppers weighed less.
History says stores are busy between 4-6 pm--after work and before dinner time=lots of hungry shoppers hovering near those candy shelved checkstands.
So, do the %26quot;facts%26quot; that people don't shop so well when they are hungry change your mind about it? Well, maybe. Maybe the store you happen to shop gets you out fast in the evenings, maybe you are a morning shopper, so you don't change your habits. Maybe you are overweight and decide to try shopping when you are not hungry.
The knowledge you gain from outside sources may influence you, but ultimately your experience with that knowledge is what creates your beliefs. That is why it takes so much to change them, That is also why in areas youu have little to no experience in, you are more apt to rely on the expertise and knowledge of others before you are able to form an opinion on it. Therefore gaining more knowledge in unfamiliar areas can sway your opinion more easily.
To continue the above example, say you don't do the shopping in your household. You notice that the shopper procrasinates and brings home too much junk food. Now your expeience agrees with the expert knowlegde. Furthurmore, you want to influence this person behavior. How are you going to convince your shopper to change this habit? By presenting a bunch of facts? or by encourageing or creating a new experiece for your shopper?
Sorry this was so long, but I hope I have helped! Good luck with your essay!
Relationship between opinion/conviction and knowledge?
%26quot;faith is not an opinion or human conviction, but a most firm trust and a clear and steadfast assent of the mind, and then a most certain apprehension of the truth%26quot; This statement is part of the Second Helvetic Confession. I take is as faith or belief is an option...a choice...based on our interpretation of the knowledge we acquire. I say interpretation because 10 different people can interpret the statement %26quot; the sky is blue%26quot; in 10 different ways.
Hi bringbac; I'll use an illustration to make my point. Let's say you built a house for yourself. You read everything you could before you started and were completely confident about how to go about it. So, you dug the hole in the ground and you poured the concrete foundation. Then you put up the framing, ran the wiring, did the plumbing etc. You put the floor joists in etc. On the outside you chose the exterior best for the climate you live in and you put the roof on and you were happy with the results. Then while you were curled up on your comfortable couch, proud of what you'd accomplished, you read a magazine about house building. In several articles, you find out that you could have done a lot of things differently.
Keeping with this metaphor, are you going to start to tear your house down because you came across some new information on different building techniques? I don't think so.
The same is true with our belief system. You start out with a basic premise, then you add some things and take away some things until you arrive at your belief system. As you age, I wouldn't call it inflexibility, I'd call it maturity when you can't be easily dissuaded from your set of beliefs.
I am a Christian, and I already have the blueprints for my set of beliefs, and science doesn't disprove what I believe. To the contrary, it only serves to reinforce my beliefs. Various sectors in the sciences are routinely proving that God, does in fact exist. Further, you can check out websites that list many famous inventors and scientists throughout history who also believed in God. There are many today as well.
Giod bless you. I can see He is opening your mind and heart to accept the truth.
