Field Blog Entry #4 - Importance of Belief and Truth (Personal)

“Does it Matter if what we Believe is True?”

People learn new information from media, school, internet, friends, family, etc and we believe it to be true because we trust the sources. I think this question does not have a definite “yes or no” answer because sometimes it doesn’t matter if what we believe is the actual truth or not.

In some subjects such as science, we need to know that we believe to be true is significant in order to explain and discover information. For example, when someone is explaining how to dissect a frog, he/she needs to believe that the information being told is true in order to teach someone else. If people are unconfident about believing something to be true, then it will cause them to have flaws in their knowledge. Another example can be found in politics where it is important that what we believe in is true because it affects the society.

Religion is a different case from science. It is not of great importance whether what we believe is true or not because religion is a matter of faith. For example, people find it challenging to provide realistic and provable evidence of the existence of God but it is not important whether the existence of God is true or not. Religion is something people rely on to answer the questions that cannot be answered using scientific evidence. Even if the existence of God is false, some people will still believe it to be true.

In conclusion, whether it matters if what we believe in is true or not depends on the subject. If the cases are subjects that affect the society or other people it is quite important to know that the information being gained is true. In contrast, topics like religion are a matter of one’s faith. So it does not matter greatly whether what we believe in is true or not.