CMJR 350: Persuasion Question Response #2

"Also in Chapter 6, Woodward and Denton explore the concept of beliefs. A belief is what we personally “know” to be true or false even if others disagree. There are many types of beliefs. Some are very crucial to our lives, while others provide connections to different objects. Do you believe that there are beliefs out there that could be concrete fact? Are there any beliefs that cannot be dismissed? An example of what I am talking about would be how everything in the study of science is still considered “theory”. I mean gravity, evolution, air and space, are all still theories, none of them has been said to be exact truth. So my question is, is everything a belief?"

There have been many times in my life when I have pondered Ryan’s third question, “Is everything a belief?” As a child I would always question why a tree was called “tree” when it could just as well be named “dog” and maintain its form. Don’t get me wrong, I knew what a tree was with its bark and leaves and need for sun but I always wondered if it could be possible that all of humanity was wrong purely because there is no solid proof about the correctness of its name. I would question colors in a similar way by asking, “How do I know that the way I see red is not the way you see blue?” There is no way to see an object through someone else’s eyes, therefore, there is no way to tell whether we are all seeing different colors but calling them by the name we have been conditioned to use.

Even though my childhood questions may not seem to directly relate all of Ryan’s, I do feel that my anecdote speaks to Woodward and Denton’s quote that “Beliefs are informational statements that link specific attributes to an object. Our perceptions of how two or more things are related determine the categories to which we assign information. One’s attitude toward an object is a function of one’s salient beliefs about the object” (pg 133). Although there is no “concrete” proof that a tree is not a dog, we believe that a tree is a tree because of our unwavering conviction in its name. Therefore I think Ryan asks a valid question; “Is everything a belief?”

To a certain extent, I believe that everything is belief but I do not feel that that changes the validity of the potential “fact” that surrounds it. As Ryan said, most science is considered “theory” but as it applies in our lives today, it is fact. Gravity is a perfect example of this. It is obvious that there is something that makes our atmosphere different than the one that is on the moon but what exactly that is, no one truly knows. The current concept of gravity works because everyone believes that it is true and there is a substantial amount of evidence that “proves” it; but yet again, can anyone, without a doubt, prove that the theory of gravity is flawless? Maybe in five hundred years a future Newton will discover that the gravity that we believe in today is completely wrong but what difference does that make to us; nothing because our beliefs today allow us to explain a phenomenon in a way that seems plausible and truthful.