What I Believe

What I know and what I believe

We describe our personal knowledge by saying either “I know that…”, or by saying “I believe that…”. I reserve the first statement for those cases where the evidence is so overwhelming as to approach certainty. Examples would be “I know that the Earth orbits around the Sun”, or “I know that I will die.”

The second statement is normally used when the evidence for the statement is not compelling. Examples would be “I believe that room temperature superconductors will be discovered.”, or “I believe that I will live to an old age.”

In many cases, time converts “believe” declarations into “know” declarations. We will eventually know the truth or the falsehood of the assertions above as we collect more evidence. Technically speaking, the two declarations are falsifiable, in that they can in principle be proved or disproved by the collection of information.

The word “believe” is also used for statements that are not falsifiable. These assertions can never, even in principle, be proved or disproved. The most famous example of such a statement would be “I believe in God.” A scientific rationalist would never make declarations of this kind. She would point out that making any nonfalsifiable statement is equivalent to saying that 478 invisible, nonobservable angels can dance on the head of a pin.

I consider myself a scientific rationalist. Nevertheless, my Credo does include nonfalsifiable beliefs. Unlike a hardcore rationalist, I think that such statements serve a purpose. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide which of my declarations are falsifiable, and which are not.

Prologue

“We have become, by the power of a glorious evolutionary accident called intelligence, the stewards of life’s continuity on earth. We did not ask for this role, but we cannot abjure it. We may not be suited for it, but here we are.”
—Stephen Jay Gould

My Credo
•    I believe that the universe is more than the sum of its parts.

•    I believe that there is a purpose and a meaning to the universe, and that we do not yet know this purpose and meaning.

•    I believe that our species is special: there is a purpose and a meaning for our own existence.

•    I believe that it will take millennia, or longer, to discover the reason for our existence and of the meaning of the universe.

•    I believe that we will learn of this meaning through discovery and exploration of the universe: by using our collective intelligence to the utmost.

•    I believe that intelligence is rare or even unique in the universe. It is our precious gift that we cannot squander.

•    I believe that it is our destiny to explore the farthest reaches of our galaxy, and that purpose and meaning are to be found out there, and not here. The fact that travel between the stars may take hundreds or thousands of years is of little consequence when we think not of individuals, but of the species.

•    I believe that the most immediate task for our species is survival. If we do not survive, we cannot begin our journey to the stars.

•    I believe that the 21st century will be the most critical 100 years in human history. We must do what we can to create a moral world society that will ensure survival of our species.

•    I believe that we can help create this moral society by promulgating the principles of a global ethic. These principles must include statements of individual rights and freedoms, but also of the responsibilities of each and every one of us to assist in the survival of our species.

•    I believe that we must stress the importance of making long-term decisions. The environment that we destroy today will not be there for future generations. Our responsibility is not just to our fellow humans, but to our progeny in future millennia.

•    I believe that placing survival of a particular human generation ahead of the survival of the rest of the life on this planet will doom future generations. We have seen over and over how our long-term survival depends critically on the careful maintenance of the global ecosystem. Arrogance and ignorance will kill us just as surely as a nuclear holocaust.

•    I believe that all of us are immortal. We live on in the collective consciousness of the human race. I believe that this is good enough. We do not need a hereafter with angels and clouds to give us comfort of our continuance.

•    Finally, I believe that my own personal life has a meaning and a purpose. That meaning and purpose to help make sure that our species not only survives, but prevails.

Comments

[Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa]

Brand,
Everything in your Credo I agree with, but the quote in your Prologue seems incongruous. Where did this overarching "purpose and meaning" to the Universe come from if we are only an "evolutionary accident?" Didn't intelligence also arise as part of this "purpose"? Where does "purpose" come from? Is it also just an "accident." Sorry, but for me it doesn't compute.

[Brand]

Ya, I agree it doesnt fit perfectly, but the reason I like the quote is it expresses very powerfully that we as humans must take charge of our own destiny, as opposed to just letting happen what happens, and as opposed to believing that a higher power will provide. Like it or not, we as individuals are not perfect, and we as a species are not perfect, but we have to make do and survive, and prevail, with what we got.

cheers,

brand