Web of Beliefs

We all have one. A web of beliefs, also known as a worldview, that shapes our character, that defines who we are. My favorite philosopher on the study of knowledge, Dr. J. P. Moreland, says that "beliefs are the rails on which our lives run." Put another way, beliefs are the threads that grotesquely tangle or beautifully weave our lives. Moreland continues "We almost always act according to what we really believe. It doesn't matter much what we say we believe or what we want others to think we believe. When the rubber meets the road, we act out our actual beliefs most of the time. That is why behavior is such a good indicator of a person's beliefs." James 1:22 reinforces the idea.

Beliefs, like desires or thoughts, are immaterial. One cannot look at my brain and say "here is Franck's belief about the Three Laws of Logic - it's located right there, next to what he had for breakfast and weighs a fraction of an ounce." However, we do map our beliefs in the mind (a faculty of the soul), based on the degree to which we believe them and their centrality. For example, perhaps my belief that the days of Genesis are actual 24-hour periods is not as strong as, say, my belief that Jesus lived in Palestine and performed miracles in the first century.

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Beliefs, like desires or thoughts, are immaterial.

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Certain beliefs are also more central than others, that is my belief that God exists is more central to me than my belief about the age of the Earth. If I learned tomorrow that the Earth was older or younger than what I believe it to be, it wouldn't turn my whole belief system upside down. On the other hand, if I learned that God did not exist, my whole belief system would be flipped on its head and I would need to rearrange all of my life's priorities. That is because that belief is so central to the way I live my life, and other beliefs are built upon it.

Now picture a spider's web. At the center of the web are the beliefs most central to you. Towards the outside are beliefs you may want to learn more about and would more easily change your mind about. The beliefs closest to the center though got there (or should be there) because you've accumulated serious evidence supporting them. They've earned their right to be there. From them come the radials of the web - the threads that extend from the center of the web towards the outside framework threads. On them, other beliefs find their foundation.

We should continuously be willing to review our beliefs, however central they are, and not be afraid to have others challenge those beliefs. Sometimes we learn new facts that reinforce a belief, giving it tensile strength, laying the groundwork for other beliefs; sometimes a belief grows weaker and is abandoned altogether. At times in one's life the whole web can be shattered and the person has to start over. But I have yet to meet someone who wouldn't rather start over with a set of true beliefs than live on with a set they know to be false?

Our belief system reminds me of spider's silk. Lightweight but extremely ductile, that is if an insect flies into it, it is able to stretch by 40%. Our beliefs too must remain flexible and be willing to expand, be open to new ideas. Waterproof; that is false ideas or bad arguments will not destroy it. With a tensile strength to density ratio roughly five times higher than that of steel - if the beliefs are true, they will endure.

Some people consciously build their webs in very precise geometrical patterns, eliminating false beliefs and gaining true ones regularly, while others go through life spinning unaware with rather messy webs.

Beliefs are not an easy thing to change. Even if they're weak, they will not easily break. Apart from the things we simply know, like "I exist" or "unselfishness is a virtue," beliefs emerge from knowledge about a particular subject. We gather supporting facts for a belief by reading a book or hearing a lecture, and contrasting these learned facts with what we already know, with science or self-introspection. We can't just believe something or try to make others believe something. The facts have to be convincing. The evidence, substantial enough for the belief to take a place on our web. I recommend to continuously be reading, listening to others' ideas, stretching your mind with new, more complicated arguments with the goal of shedding false beliefs and acquiring new true ones.

What's in your web?