The epistemology thread

[Wayne in Maine]

What I like about the definition I posted is “what distinguishes justifiable belief from opinion”. I think that is the central question “ justifiable belief” vs. opinion.

[Bootstrap]

What I like about the definition I posted is “what distinguishes justifiable belief from opinion”. I think that is the central question “ justifiable belief” vs. opinion.

In the phrase "justifiable belief", who do I have to justify my beliefs to, and what qualifies as a belief?

As a pragmatist, I would say a belief is something that serves as a basis for ordering what I do. I do not know for sure that my desk chair will hold my weight the next time I sit down on it, it might splinter into a million pieces and dump me on the floor, but I consider that unlikely, and I have enough certainty that I sit on it day after day without a thought.

We have various levels of certainty for our beliefs, and different kinds of certainty. I step into a canoe and sit down with more caution than I use when I sit at my desk. More variables are involved. The odds of something going wrong seem higher.

Often, I need only justify my beliefs to myself. If my canoe tips and I am alone in water I know well, nobody will get terribly upset with me. If I have your child in my boat with me, I am thinking about every possible risk knowing that I may need to explain it to you if something goes wrong.

[Wayne in Maine]

What I like about the definition I posted is “what distinguishes justifiable belief from opinion”. I think that is the central question “ justifiable belief” vs. opinion.

In the phrase "justifiable belief", who do I have to justify my beliefs to, and what qualifies as a belief?

As a pragmatist, I would say a belief is something that serves as a basis for ordering what I do. I do not know for sure that my desk chair will hold my weight the next time I sit down on it, it might splinter into a million pieces and dump me on the floor, but I consider that unlikely, and I have enough certainty that I sit on it day after day without a thought.

We have various levels of certainty for our beliefs, and different kinds of certainty. I step into a canoe and sit down with more caution than I use when I sit at my desk. More variables are involved. The odds of something going wrong seem higher.

Often, I need only justify my beliefs to myself. If my canoe tips and I am alone in water I know well, nobody will get terribly upset with me. If I have your child in my boat with me, I am thinking about every possible risk knowing that I may need to explain it to you if something goes wrong.

I think, as a philosophical issue, justifiable means that one’s belief can be justified to others, which distinguishes a belief from mere personal opinion.

[Soloist]

I think, as a philosophical issue, justifiable means that one’s belief can be justified to others, which distinguishes a belief from mere personal opinion.

I think its impossible to have justifiable belief. Just my opinion.

[Josh]

I think, as a philosophical issue, justifiable means that one’s belief can be justified to others, which distinguishes a belief from mere personal opinion.

I think its impossible to have justifiable belief. Just my opinion.

I hold that believing in God as truth, the logos, is a justifiable belief.

[steve-in-kville]

A fact is information minus the emotion.

An opinion is information plus experience.

Ignorance is an opinion lacking information.

And, stupidity is an opinion that ignores a fact.

Thread over. You can thank me later

[steve-in-kville]

Seriously, though... lately I've been harkening back to various huge decisions in my Christian walk. Marriage, job changes, church changes and the like. There were times that I really wanted something really, really bad, and went to lengths to justify it by my emotions, which I confused with God's will for me. Yeah, it worked out okay (most of the time) but was I really where God wanted me?

There have been other times that random circumstances got dropped in my lap: sometimes great, happy things. Many times, not so great and happy things. And it would become extremely clear, with time, that this is exactly where God wanted me and He had a defined reason for it. I would be quite unsure of myself and yet random (some not so random) people in my life encouraging me to pursue a cause or calling.

God works in mysterious ways, for sure

[joshuabgood]

I think, as a philosophical issue, justifiable means that one’s belief can be justified to others, which distinguishes a belief from mere personal opinion.

I think its impossible to have justifiable belief. Just my opinion.

I hold that believing in God as truth, the logos, is a justifiable belief.

Some say that belief is actually properly basic. And needs no justification.

The old theory about warrant for knowing is "a true justified" belief. In the last 49 years some interesting thought experiments have been done to challenge that description as a sole basis for knowing.

[Valerie]

A fact is information minus the emotion.

An opinion is information plus experience.

Ignorance is an opinion lacking information.

And, stupidity is an opinion that ignores a fact.

Thread over. You can thank me later

The situation exists where there are opposing stayed "facts" by those that we are listening to.
When that happens, we need to trust the Lord & discern whose facts are true. Science supports evolution instead of Creation. Science tries to explain a lot of "sin" away by their supposed facts- and so we pray. There are many "professional" voices out there with a lot of "other" facts. Judging by the anabaptist that I'm most familiar with, I can see they don't trust the facts that the masses in America trust.

[Sudsy]

Jesus is the truth, the life and the way. To seek after truth is to seek more of God. When I look at what scripture says about Jesus and where His concerns were in this world, much of what I and others pursue to know the truth about, He was not into discussing which often means arguing about.

Perhaps if what we seek to know truth about had more of a spiritual and eternal nature we might get a better understanding of those things God is most concerned about. Voices of this world and the concerns of this world I don't see where Jesus showed concern. He was concerned about things like hypocrisy of religious people, carrying for the poor and sick, fears people had over basic things in our life here, etc.

So, imo, much time is spent chasing down the truth on subjects that Jesus would ignore as He didn't allow the unsaved world dictate what He should be concerned about. Allowing the media and temporary hot topics of the world to demand our focus is, imo, where we need renewed minds that seek truth in God and focus on following Jesus, the truth, the life and the way.