A Philosophy of Belief

Things are what they are believed to be.  This is not the same as what they seem or appear to be.  Granted we deal often with appearance and can judge only on the basis of what seems to be, there are areas where we must step beyond appearance and in that sense transcend the observed and recognized. It is then that we move into religion and other spheres where concern is not only with what is seen, but also with what is seen only by the eyes of faith.

When treating of religious issues or questions, we begin with belief.  That which is believed must be assumed to be.  It is that from which all else derives.  Faith is a foundation rather than an outcome, and whatever is the content of the belief is beyond question.  It is in that sense a higher function than reason, and so can be assumed, even without support of reason, and become the premise of subsequent observation.

The premise of each person may be different, at least in some regard, but that does not make it subject to denial since belief is the given factor, an apparently gratuitous point of departure.  Granted others viewing the same question or phenomenon may come to different conclusions, the difference is not reason to deny the reality or validity of their conclusions, since the belief underlying those conclusions is uniquely theirs.  It would be reasonable to offer alternatives, perhaps those that I have reached based on my own assumptions, but it is not reasonable or legitimate to place another person's beliefs into my categories and so deny them.  To do so suggests a certain insecurity and little more.

Even if a person's supposition is that none are possible, if his belief is that there can be no belief, once accepted it becomes beyond denial.  Nor can it be refuted, except perhaps in theory.  And the need even to offer that level of refutation may speak to limitations in one's own sense of what is.

It is also possible that over time a person may develop, refine, delete, or completely alter their beliefs.  There is freedom to alter the direction or content of thought, and should he find it more in line with his personality as it develops even the basic tenets may change.  This might even be anticipated since people are altered by their experience and must find new understanding as life is less easily understood in terms once used.  Change happens as a result of reflection or as events confront belief over the course of time.  The resultant modification is as legitimate a statement of belief as what it replaces, since it is based presumably on as much conviction.  It is thus made as inviolable.

It can be objected that there remains no objective reality, at least in this sphere.  There are some who might say there never was such a thing; it may be better said that elements of the multiplicity are related even though diverse or opposed.  All are true, yet different.  Since all are inclined in favor of their formulation, and the stronger the faith the more adamant may be the conviction, to each his response is deemed objectively true.  The belief in truth, even if what constitutes it in this instance is ill-defined, is what is commonly held.  If objectivity is important, it is found in the person holding the belief and living by it.

There quite probably is an objective standard that it is not possible to ascertain, except for oneself (in the subjective way that implies), what it is.  We should then conclude as the most reasonable notion that every individual is, to the strength and extent of his belief, constrained to act in accord with that belief and no other.  For him, it is the only truth.