Belief should not rush ahead of support. A healthy worldview takes public truth seriously, trusts good authorities wisely, and still does the personal work of thinking things through.

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Understanding Belief Thread

Column 2 of 3 in the Understanding Belief series.

How ideas become truth.

Column Research

Stories: Science Philosophy Critical Thinking History Big Bang Metaphysics Evolution Biases Futurism Ancient History Ethics Reasoning

1 Essay + 6 Tidbits

1 Focus

Plus a bonus deep-dive article.

This Issue:

— Confidence —

Confidence in ideas increases with alignment to reality.

Greetings!

If belief requires justification, then confidence must be earned and calibrated. How much trust should you place in what you believe? Sometimes your trust rests in well-supported public belief. Sometimes it rests in good authorities who have earned your confidence. And sometimes it grows through personal research and direct investigation. Confidence is not all or nothing. It comes in degrees, rises with support, and should remain open to revision. And should fall with counter evidence. Intellectual humility is not weakness; it is disciplined trust.

–Michael Alan Prestwood

6 Research Tidbits

Wisdom Builder Crossroads

The research, stories, and questions that inform this issue.

1 Story »

John Snow and the Broad Street Pump

1854

The story of John Snow in 1854 reminds us that good reasoning lets confidence follow evidence, not fear, habit, or public assumption.

2 Quote »

“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”

David Hume
1748

Your confidence in an idea, whether scientific or spiritual, should rise with support, not desire.

3 Science »

Were dinosaurs Jurassic movie smart?

Dinosaurs were probably not movie-raptor smart, yet 170 million years of evolution and a badly incomplete fossil record give us good reason to keep an open mind.

4Philosophy »

How does the idea of Identity in Christ fit within TST?

TST respects religious self/non-self teachings, but treats them as personal meaning frameworks rather than as rational truths.

5Critical Thinking »

What is the difference between public truth and public belief?

Do not confuse what is widely repeated with what is well tested. Public belief deserves attention, but public truth deserves your higher confidence.

6History!

Did Einstein’s driver really give one of his early talks?

Historical belief should rise only as high as the evidence behind the story. Watch for contemporaneous evidence, testimony, and surviving relics.

The Deeper Dive!

Linked Article

Updated This Week

THINK WELL

Paper

TST Theory of Belief: Justification, Credence, and Recalibration

Epistemology

You justify your belief in a specific idea by first assigning it truth category (empirical, rational, irrational). Then you assign the appropriate degree of confidence that aligns with reality through empirical contact, logical coherence, disciplined testing. This establishes Public Truth. Finally, you calibrate your personal belief in it using your chosen pragmatic approach or empirical, rational, or irrational pragmatist.

By Philosopher Michael Alan Prestwood

THIS ISSUE: Confidence.