the difference between "knowing" and "believing"
i "know" i was alive in 1963, but i cannot "prove" it personally (having been born in late 1962). i would have to call upon others to verify it. (along with some documentation)
i "know" i was alive in 1977, and i can vouch for it personally (along with other's testimony and documentation)
i "know" that Abraham Lincoln was alive in the early 1860's, by accrediting the same tools of documentation, in addition to living with the after-effects of his existence.
but i do not have the first-hand evidence of having actually spoken to someone who met him. (as i have with Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, every US President from Truman to the present day... why always the rottenest bastards? thank the gods for Otto Kretschmer) therefore, what Lincoln said, did, and why, has been handed-down to me by others, filtered. and whether those interpretations are accurate, i cannot "know". i can only "believe" the interpretations that strike me as the most plausible (believable) based on my own experiences, and subject to re-interpretation when new 'data' is acquired.
beyond Lincoln lies 400 years of documentation (and some artifacts), courtesy of Gutenberg, verifying the existence of many others, but they diminish considerably with passing of centuries and are subject to ever greater degrees of skepticism and inaccuracy. to the point where, over a millennia, or two, ago, men were said to have lived and spoke words that were consumed by their contemporaries and posterity, as those of a "prophet" or the "son of God".
it is in the extrapolation from so far back "then" to "now" that my "know"-ing and "believe"-ing begins to converge and breakdown simultaneously. it is from such distant and multi-filtered times past that 'reasonable (rational) doubt' invades and consumes, thus eliminating "knowing" completely, leaving only "belief".
but it is when the template for judging the distant past is applied to the present, that truly disturbing questions arise.
i "know" that planes flew into buildings some years ago because i saw the film on television. i "know" some of the subsequent actions/reactions made in response to that event. what i do not "know" is the "why?".
for in a perverse irony of the modern day, having too much information has the same effect as having too little. it forces one to have to "choose" what to "believe" because "knowing" with a reasonable degree of certainty is rendered impossible. and each individual makes their own choices based upon their own experience and ability, or desire, to assess the information and distill it for themselves.
and thus, the development of a "belief system" that can be argued/defended is ultimately about all one can do for one's self and the community. to say "because i believe it so" carries little weight. even less weight when the assertion becomes "because a 'goodbook' told me so" or "that's what i was taught".
consequently, what people "believe" to "know" says more about them than what is the actual 'truth'.
how do i "know" that?
i don't. but it "works", for me.
stephenhsmith
26May2007
26 May 2007
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3 comments:
All we really know is what THEY tell us.
We don't know what we don't know.
We don't know what we don't know... All we really know is what THEY tell us.
and therein lies the 'crux of the biscuit' as Frank Zappa used to say...
in order to learn that "knowing" is so limited, one has to want to learn
having learned the limits of "knowing", one has to construct a working "belief" system.
so many seem to skip directly to the "beliefs" implanted in them because they do not wish to make the effort to learn (or re-learn) for themselves. they may consider themselves "blessed by Faith", effectively shutting off all further consideration and incorporation of new information.
so many people seem not only comfortable doing that, but even assert to others that it is the way to be.
to me it is a recipe for stagnation, dooming Mankind to an endless repetition of the same mistakes. which almost any study of History will quickly reveal.
and thus perhaps, the question determining the future of Mankind and each individual, comes down to:
"How badly do you want to 'KNOW' ?"
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