Reason Vs Belief Dr.Sanjiva Dev |
In the words of Rabindranath Tagore "Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark" Even prior to the appearance of light in the east the bird would see the light at dawn. The source of faith has its base in the past experience of the bird.The bird has the experience of seeing many a dawn in the past and that was why the bird was able to know that every dawn would precede the advent of light.Thus some beliefs depend upon the past experiences of a person. Even deductive logic reies upon inductive logic in forming its conclusions. Where there is smoke there is fire.But how does one know that where the smoke exists does exist fire?One knows because one has the past experience of observing the fact of the concomitance of smoke and fire.The source of belief (inference) is related primarily to inductive logic. There are three significant categories of the cerebral activity-discrimination, definition and description. Discription is the process of seeing,thinking and analysing objects,men and manners, |
knowing the differences and the similarities of the animate and the inanimate entities. Definition reveals the nature and the motive of the living as well as the non-living phenomena. Eventually description deals with the apparent form rather than the essential content of both the organic and the inorganic nature and the elemental existence including the images and the mirages. Sense Perception Vs Illusion: All
these phenomenal facts are both subjective and objective in their
external aspects while in their internals they are subjective. All
objective aspects belong to reason, Does this mean that the ability to approach reason is limited to sense-perceptions only and all that is beyond sense-perceptions is merely an illusion? Is reason limited to the empirical and to pragmatic realism alone? Is it irrational if it is categorised that reason's one aspect is gross or sense-perceptual and its other aspect is subtle and non-sense perceptual? Is reason simply sense-perceptible?In such a case what we call reason is not an integral one but a fraction? |
The world itself is both a phenomenon and a noumenon. It has a gross aspect and a subtle one. Is the elemental world an apt criterion to judge the mental world? is the atomic world and illusion simply because its presence is beyond vision and audition? But here arises another doubt. The atomic world cannot be seen with our eye, no doubt. But at the same time we cannot deny the subtle fact that without the eye the atomic world cannot be seen even through the mightiest microscope. Thus rational truth is that both the instrument and human sense are equally required to comprehend the truth. Belief may often fail to reveal the truth where as reason may occasionally fail to do so, for belief is less than semi-rational and reason is less than semi-emotional. Rational Belief: By the way, is there a rational belief? May be, but there is no 'emotional reason'. A belief which happens to be rational could never be a belief at all. It is only a reason. On the other hand, a reason which happens to emotional could also be a belief. Some beliefs are rational but reasons are not emotional. Belief is of two sorts in general - negative and positive.To believe that the HImalayas are beautiful is a positive belief whereas to believe that the Himalayas are ugly is a negative belief. Negative beliefs are perilous, The positive ones are not |