I think I'm sort of agreeing with Molly's post and disagreeing with it at the same time here. I'd like to make my own distinction between "I believe" and "I know." I agree that often times "I believe" is used in place of "I know" simply to avoid offense. But I don't think that is always true, and in fact I know ( ;) ) that "I believe" can be a very appropriate qualifier. For example, I believe that God exists. For me, this means that I in fact do think strongly that the existence of God is real, yet I acknowledge that others dispute the idea, there are plausible arguments against such belief. I qualify my belief as just that--a belief--because though I find it to be true, I recognize that it cannot be proven either way. Thus it is personal knowledge--a belief--rather than completely objective "I know" knowledge. On the other hand, I have no problem saying "I know" in cases where I feel I have arrived at objective knowledge even on a controversial issue. Let's take abortion, since it's already been mentioned. Allow the debates to start flowing, but I will say I know that abortion is wrong in some cases (to emphasize: in some cases). I base this upon what I believe to be objective ("I believe", since thoughts on objectivity cannot be proven truly objectively) , such as generally accepted moral code coupled with science, etc. (I can elaborate if it's really desired, but my point here isn't to argue my knowledge, it's only to make the point that I consider this an "I know" statement as opposed to an "I believe" statement.)
"I know" this post is starting to confuse me but "I believe" it makes a bit of sense.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I like the comments you and others are making about personal knowledge. This is in line with a philosopher named Michael Polanyi who has made much of the notion of personal knowledge.
I would also agree that there are some who use the expression "I believe" simply as a way to avoid giving offense, though I would also agree that there are others who use it in a stronger fashion.
What impresses me is the level to which everyone who has been posting has wrestled with this issue. The wrestling alone is good...it strengthens your ability to think critically. If it leads to some kind of conclusion, even better.
Post a Comment