Is Doubt the Key to Knowledge? Essay -- Proverb Analysis

Doubt is the middle ground between blind acceptance and outright refusal to believe. Doubt lends itself to a certain uncomfortable feeling of questioning but is a necessary tool to reach perceived truth and knowledge. Without doubt, one would believe anything he or she is told; it is a natural filter for the information thrust upon us. Doubt is in some ways the opposite of faith. Faith insinuates an acceptance so powerful that one does not need evidence to back up one’s claim. The lack of evidence does not bother the faithful, but it will pester the doubter like an insatiable itch. But the specter of doubt looms over the doubter, demanding that questions be asked of whatever â€Å"fact† has been presented. The doubter will use the four ways of knowing—emotion, reason, language, and sense perception—to answer the questions and become a knower. Doubt is especially necessary in two areas of knowledge: history and human sciences. When studying history, one mu st doubt the stories presented as facts and consider possible distortions created by biases or the passage of time. Without doubt, the field of human science would never advance past the current understanding, leaving human kind stuck in an age of primitive treatment and technology. The accuracy of history is weakened by time, perception, and memory. The Bible, for example, is particularly prone to such weaknesses. Millions of people accept it as fact despite its many fallacies. The events in the Bible are considered to be part of history. Yet such events were written about many years after they actually occurred. For example, Jesus is thought to have died in 33 A.D. This date is considered likely as his death must have occurred before Pontius Pilate left his position in 36 A.D. Y... ...iam. â€Å"The Gospel According to Luke.† The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible.† Nashville: Abingdon, 1971. 672-706. Print. Bawer, Bruce. "What is Truth?" Rev. of Pontius Pilate , by Ann Wroe. Reviews by Bruce Bawer Fall 2001. Web. 1 Jan. 2011. . Leo, Johnathan. "The Fallacy of the 50% Concordance Rate for Schizophrenia in Identical Twins." Rev. of The Gene Illusion , by Jay Joseph. Human Nature Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. . Pentecost, J. Dwight. The Word and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2000. Amazon.com. Web. 1 Jan2011.. The Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago: Moody, 1976. Print. New American Standard Translation. Is Doubt the Key to Knowledge? Essay -- Proverb Analysis Doubt is the middle ground between blind acceptance and outright refusal to believe. Doubt lends itself to a certain uncomfortable feeling of questioning but is a necessary tool to reach perceived truth and knowledge. Without doubt, one would believe anything he or she is told; it is a natural filter for the information thrust upon us. Doubt is in some ways the opposite of faith. Faith insinuates an acceptance so powerful that one does not need evidence to back up one’s claim. The lack of evidence does not bother the faithful, but it will pester the doubter like an insatiable itch. But the specter of doubt looms over the doubter, demanding that questions be asked of whatever â€Å"fact† has been presented. The doubter will use the four ways of knowing—emotion, reason, language, and sense perception—to answer the questions and become a knower. Doubt is especially necessary in two areas of knowledge: history and human sciences. When studying history, one mu st doubt the stories presented as facts and consider possible distortions created by biases or the passage of time. Without doubt, the field of human science would never advance past the current understanding, leaving human kind stuck in an age of primitive treatment and technology. The accuracy of history is weakened by time, perception, and memory. The Bible, for example, is particularly prone to such weaknesses. Millions of people accept it as fact despite its many fallacies. The events in the Bible are considered to be part of history. Yet such events were written about many years after they actually occurred. For example, Jesus is thought to have died in 33 A.D. This date is considered likely as his death must have occurred before Pontius Pilate left his position in 36 A.D. Y... ...iam. â€Å"The Gospel According to Luke.† The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible.† Nashville: Abingdon, 1971. 672-706. Print. Bawer, Bruce. "What is Truth?" Rev. of Pontius Pilate , by Ann Wroe. Reviews by Bruce Bawer Fall 2001. Web. 1 Jan. 2011. . Leo, Johnathan. "The Fallacy of the 50% Concordance Rate for Schizophrenia in Identical Twins." Rev. of The Gene Illusion , by Jay Joseph. Human Nature Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. . Pentecost, J. Dwight. The Word and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2000. Amazon.com. Web. 1 Jan2011.. The Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago: Moody, 1976. Print. New American Standard Translation.