Expanding the Dynamics of Belief by Christina Hall

Expanding the Dynamics of Beliefs

Christina Hall, Ph.D.

"Nothing is more wondrous about the fifteen billion neurons in the human brain than their ability to convert thoughts, hopes, ideas, and attitudes into chemical substances.

Everything begins, therefore, with belief.

What we believe is the most powerful option of all."

(Norman Cousins)

Human beings are generalizers.  We make generalizations about everything. Generalizations set boundaries, which by definition, are artificial.  Yet we use them as indispensable guides to navigate through the world of experience. 

"Perception is a mirror not a fact.

 And what we look on is our state of mind, reflected outward."

A generalization is in essence a “law” or principle, which is inferred from particular examples.  It is a evaluative statement that goes beyond what is actually observed and the information available.  This “going-beyond” is called an inductive leap, to a rule or law, governing some category of experience.  An inductive leap occurs when we use particular cases as examples to make a statement (or inference) to define some totality, which includes both observed and unobserved cases. Generalizations are like a “double-edged” sword.  They can either restrict and limit or expand and enrich the range of possibility and choice.

Often, there is a tendency to take for granted that one’s generalization is the only one possible or the “right” one, as if it were a fact.  This may seem harmless on the surface.  However, when that occurs, it can be limiting, because of the emphasis on closure to further exploration of the possibilities.  There is a additional implication in that the generalization is taken to be valid, and perhaps even the same, for all observers.

“Truth is not what we discover, but what we create.”

(St. Exupéry)

Knowledge is stabilized by the use of generalizations.  One of the uses of knowledge is in its predictive function.  However, no generalization can ever be more than a probability statement, or “working” hypothesis, so to speak, because we can never be utterly certain that all the evidence is in or even available.  So, a provocative question arises:  Can we ever assert with complete and utter certainty and confidence that we are completely right about something and the other person completely wrong?...more....