Five Ways of Belief

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The following essay evolved from a personal quest to explore the many ways of belief.



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In what ways do we believe what we believe?  In what style or manner do we place our trust in a person, a thing, or an idea?

There are at least five distinct ways of belief.   Even though they are all interrelated, it is possible to describe them individually, , noting the both the strengths and the weaknesses of each.  In order to launch our discussion of the five ways, it is necessary  to have a common mental reference to keep in mind. .  Though all of our senses are equally important, I've chosen a visual image to facilitate our quest.  Let us think of Niagara Falls as the common reference.   It's exactly the big, bold image we need.


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Belief by Way of Direct Experience.

"I've seen Niagara Falls with my own eyes, and, therefore, I know it exists."

Having direct experience of something is the most fundamental way of belief.  We usually trust what we see, and we easily persuade others to accept the essentials of our experience.  Eyewitness testimony, under oath, may be the most important factor in a court of law, resulting in the defendant's conviction or acquittal.  Yet even direct experience may have its limitations.



Though we have seen something with our own eyes, there is always the possibility that we have misinterpreted what we experienced, or have succumbed to an illusion.  What we have seen could have been the result of "swamp gas, or some other trick of nature.  It's definitely a trite notion, but we are often subjects of illusions of many kinds, just as we may be baffled by a magician;s trick.

Sometimes, the illusions are simply part of the natural order.  If we take a telescope and focus on the most distant galaxies, we may think we are having direct experience of them, thinking to ourselves, "oh, wow!  Look at that."  In these moments of excitement, we most remind ourselves that we are experiencing a natural illusion.  The galaxies are millions of light years from Earth, therefore we are seeing them where they were millions of years ago.  Where they are today, we have no earthly idea, after all.

Perhaps a far more subtle limitation of direct experience is that of faded memory..  We may have seen Niagara Fallls with our own eyes, but our memory of it could have been distorted through the passage of time.  For example, please consider my own remembrance of  certain family photographs.  One day long ago, I was perusing through my Grandmothers
's photo album, and was intrigued by an old family picture.  There was no chance for me to copy the picture, so I simply memorized it, as best I could.  I would often think of the picture, studying it carefully in my mind.  A few years passed, and I returned to my Grandmother's house and reviewed the photo.  I was astonished to learn that I had completely reconstructed the picture, changing the perspective and placing the subjects in a different order.  My memory had played a trick on me, in the intervening years.

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Belief by \Way of  Considering Expert Evidence

"Ive never seen Niagara Falls, but I have studied the facts provided by eminent experts, and therefore, I believe it exists."

A well-informed opinion requires the study of facts and other pertinent information provided by those with first-hand experience or the work of  eminent experts.  These people compile data, record histories, form hypotheses, make logical conclusions, and write exhaustive essays.  They form a large body of evidence.   The evidence is even more compelling when the experts agree, or "concur" with each other  Concurrence gives weight to their conclusions.    Considering the veracity of their work may lead us to belief, and to well-informed opinion.  Knowing the facts of s subject is very powerful, especially when discussing the subject with others.  Though we may rightly trust in what we learned from the experts,  our very trust may be subject to change, as the following story may illustrate.

The European Space Agency recently sent their Rosetta Spacecraft to orbit a comet named 67P.  The agency's scientists made extensive tests of the comet's elements, and detected  the presence of molecular oxygen.  This discovery sent the scientific world into an uproar.  It is said that scientists had long assumed that the presence of oxygen on a comet was impossible, and the agency spent an entire year verifying the test results.

An ordinary layman, like myself, would probably think, "who cares !  What possible difference could it make?"  The astronomers, however, did not share my casual attitude, and suggested that their basic assumptions regarding the evolution of the universe were totally wrong.  In the period of time before the discoveries on 67P, science was certain of its assumptions.  There was scholarship, and concurrence among the experts.  Now, things had changed.  Forget what you thought you knew.  The whole subject is being rewritten. Mistakes in fundamental understanding, and changes of opinion among experts is not uncommon.  It probably happens much more often than we know.

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Belief by Way of Intuitive Understanding

"I've never seen Niagara Falls, but, somehow, I know it's there."

People may have powerful experiences beyond human reason. Though they have many forms, we generally refer to them as "intuition," or a special way of knowing.   These experiences are often described as "playing a hunch," or "having a personal revelation."  These intuitions can be the most potent way of belief for those who have such experiences.

One of the problems with intuitive understanding is that it  does not generate confidence in    the minds of others.  There is no "reason" to believe in the veracity of these experiences, except that we may trust and respect the person having them, and reserve final judgement when "proof" is achieved.  In the meantime, the intuitive person may act on their own special knowledge, with varying results.  For example, a person could go the the racetrack and "play a hunch," betting a huge amount on a certain horse.  The hunch result in a huge win, or, the person could simply lose their rent money for the entire month.  The example may seem a bit trivial, but each of us has probably experienced far more profound instances of the intuitions of others.

Once, I took my family on a short vacation about three hundred miles from home.  On the night before we were to depart, my little eight year old daughter came to me quite disturbed and upset.  "Daddy, something is wrong at home," she told me.   "There, there," I consoled, trying to be fatherly.  "Just relax.  I'm sure it is okay," I added.  "No, no," she said.  "Something terrible is happening at home."  The next day we headed for home, with me worried the whole time.  As soon as we arrived, we discovered that my daughter was right.  The front door of the house had been jimmied by burglars, who had been caught in the act by a police patrol.  In fact, plain-clothes detectives arrived at the house just as we were entering, explaining what had happened the night before.  The incident will always live in my memory as an example of the power of intuition.

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Belief by Way of Conforming to the Beliefs of Others

"I've never seen Niagara Falls, but I believe in it because other people do."

We often believe what we believe simply because others want us to believe it.  Ironically, we may accede to their wishes  for the most superficial, or, indeed, the profoundest of "reasons."    The thread that binds all of them is that there is no direct experience, no study of facts, and definitely no intuition.  Blind faith and total subservience alone is what prompts us to "go along to get along,"

The  impulse to submit to the will of others can be overwhelming.  Many people find themselves threatened and intimidated, bullied and humiliated if they do not consent to the well of the powerful.  Only the strongest and most devoted among us, or, perhaps, the most foolish, could rebel against these powers.  Consider the Roman Emperor, Caligula, for example.  He declared himself a God, appointed his horse to the Roman Senate, terrified and abused anyone who opposed him.  Until his final unraveling, it would have been impossible to challenge his beliefs and remain alive.

In a less dramatic scenario, even mere peer pressure can be a true test of our strength of character, with its implied threat of ostracism and alienation.  If we want to be hip, cool or "de rigueur,"  we had better "walk the walk, and talk the talk."  Sometimes, however, the pressure to obey and conform comes  to us through our personal histories, and family traditions, rather than from  the demands of our peers.

Most people live by a religion, a philosophy, a code of conduct, or an ideology.   Even those who claim to have renounced such things live by a code of their own renunciations.   Nonetheless, even when we accept the code voluntarily, with our own free will, we may be bending to the will of others.  "Of course I believe what my ancestors believed.  Who am I to question them.  If it were not for them I wouldn't even be here today."  Such a discernment derives from emotion, rather than from thought, and gives assent to the will of others, long removed from the present.  It's easy to understand why those who convert to a faith, or a philosophy, are different from those who are "born" into it.  Those who are born into a community of faith can never renounce it without possibly discrediting their ancestors, whereas the convert has no such scruples.

The concept of thought versus emotion segues nicely into our fifth way of belief.

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Belief by Way of Emotional Bias

"Ive never seen Niagara Falls, but I would would love it or hate it, if I did."

We possess the capacity for thought, and for feeling, yet this this final way f belief evokes our emotions exclusively.   The truth of something is completely ignored, as nothing has meaning, per se, except that  it pleases our feelings, for good or ill.  We indulge our prejudices and fantasies , hoping to achieve an emotional outpouring, which may be mercifully beneficial, or dangerously irrational.  Ultimately, this way of belief is not really belief at all.  It is more like a power of the mind, enabling us to vent our feelings in a catharsis of love or hate.

I've adopted our trusty  image of Niagara Falls to illustrate theses emotional states.  beginning with the hateful.

"That damn Niagara Falls fills me with such morbid fear and horror.  Just think of all the people who have died, drowning in its terrible power leavings widow and orphans to fend for themselves.  Just look at that awful, stinking mist that rises up from the hideous thing.  Foul, contagious, toxic gas from the bowels of hell !   An atomic bomb should be dropped on it, and the world would be better off.  At least, we would be rid of this most contemptible place forever."

The following offering attempts to illustrate a loving, or beautiful impression of Niagara.

"When I contemplate Niagara Falls, my senses are lifted to heaven.  I am ravished by every tender detail, inspired by every nuance of its grandeur.  The water rushing so powerfully on its journey; the sunlight reflecting from its dashing splendor, fills me with unfathomable joy.  Beautiful Niagara, Queen of natural wonders!  May my heart become united with you in your natural splendor, always so wondrous and spectacular, so winsome and radiant."