TOK Paper on Seeing Conditions What We Believe
Seeing Conditions What We Believe; Believing Conditions What We See.
Theory of Knowledge
Seeing conditions what we believe; believing conditions what we see.
Seeing conditions what we believe; believing conditions what we see. This is a true statement, although on the surface it appears paradoxical. How can one’s beliefs be affected by physical evidence if the beliefs in question affect how one sees the physical evidence? To best discuss this statement, it is necessary to examine different cases in which either side of the statement might be true. Having done this, it will become easier to resolve the aforementioned paradox.
The first statement, “Seeing conditions what we believe,” is quite true. This has been the case for thousands of years and seeing has affected beliefs spanning across the world. To better understand this concept, I shall use the word “seeing” to represent all sensory perceptions.
When the ancient Norseman saw a lightning bolt, he hypothesized that it must have been thrown by an angry god. Today when we see it, we regard it merely as an atmospheric discharge. Regardless of the levels of scientific advancement in either culture, it can easily be seen that sensory perception of the lightning bolt triggers a certain response, or belief. For the ancient Norseman, it was that Thor threw it. For the Scientific Rationalist, it is being caused by electromagnetic forces. The converse of the statement, “believing conditions what we see, 8; also works into this example; the Norseman, a rather scientifically unadvanced person, had a polytheistic belief system which made it easy for him to accept Thor and his lightning bolts. A Scientific Rationalist, more scientifically advanced than the Norseman, demands a godless explanation for lightning and thus rationalizes it with a scientific theory. Nonetheless, is quite clear that our sensory perceptions, or “seeing,” as it were, has a conditioning impact upon what we believe.
By “seeing” or experiencing different sensory phenomena, we shape our fundamental beliefs. Therefore, “seeing conditions what we believe.”
The converse of the statement is equally as true: believing conditions what we see. To illustrate this point of belief conditioning seeing (as well as reaffirming that seeing conditions belief), imagine that two archaeologists in Israel had found what was rumored to be the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. Let us further suppose that one ar chaeologist is a Christian whereas the other is an atheist. Upon entering, they find no body. The Christian...