How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?
One of the most fascinating facets in our diverse and complex world, is the differences in how our brains acquire and value information through different processes. For each and every individual in the entire populace, the defining features for Knowledge, belief and opinion are all intertwined with one another.
In terms of knowledge, the distinctive feature would be how it is acquired through evidence and experience. It is facts, history and proven information that the majority of people agree with and rely on being true. Whereas, belief tends to be more of a personal, cultural and/or a religious aspect that is believed to be true on a wider spectrum than opinion. It is practically the unknown, it is different in every aspect of life with little evidence to support it. An opinion can belong to a singular individual and is non-subjective. It is a viewpoint that an individual sees to be true while others may not agree.
In certain areas of the world, the way of life is highly influenced by the religious practices in their culture. Take the Vatican city for an example, it has created its own laws for its citizens to follow and it is an area that is highly devoted towards chistianity. In general, people assess their beliefs to be true and are quite reluctant to alter them. This is relatively similar to knowledge where people hold on to what they know to be true and readjusting what they know would be uncomfortable and perhaps distressing.
This image represents a place that is central to many peoples beliefs and faith; to which they will shape their lives around. I took this image while I was visiting a cemetery at St.Brelades and wanted to catch the beautiful scenery. I have realised that this image raises questions in my essay. Does a belief towards religion take a position of greater importance just because it’s central to faith? I would suggest not, because to acquire beliefs in the first place, this would have had to have been shaped from the foundation of a person’s upbringing and their culture, because both of these factors affect how someone contemplates their ideas. Given this, we can only have a belief once we have obtained a means of knowledge from a source which must be of value first.
Religion is a useful tool that can be used within a society in order to keep a civilization in balance. The incentive of the afterlife and the moral of a saint is a reliable way to ensure the behavior of individuals. This is an example of a pragmatic truth as it is an efficient belief that is widely accepted and followed within a community.