Philosophers throughout history have attempted to explain concepts and divine processes. In achieving this they have always applied reason and logical explanation. Any explanation that seemed illogical or unreal was questioned. However, there has been a constant struggle between belief and reason. Beliefs are ideas that are based on religious, moral and political faiths. Beliefs affect the ability to reason because beliefs cannot be easily changed, they are facts for people and they create boundaries that hinder reasoning.
Belief can hinder reasoning because once they are accepted, they imperceptibly become facts. Belief immediately gets accepted as reality and further questioning or inquiry becomes difficult. For example, Galileo Galilei faced backlash and imprisonment because his theory was against the belief of the church that the earth is the centre of the universe. The idea can also be seen in how many religious groups are against stem cell research because these groups consider stem cell manipulation equivalent to playing god. Therefore, beliefs once ingrained are treated as confirmed facts and become resistant to suggestions and challenge. Hence, belief and reason are not compatible as belief becomes grounds for unproven facts.
Beliefs define an individual’s personal sense of reality and knowledge. Human beings have a belief system and through this mechanism, they individually, “make sense” of the world around them Humans need belief systems in varying degrees to cope with events in their lives. For example, religion may fill the human need for finding meaning and not thinking about the existential angst while supporting social movements. Everyone has opinions, biases, and feelings that shape their own beliefs. Based on these factors, people form their opinions which may lead to improper reasoning. However, reason and beliefs are not mutually exclusive. Atheists use reasoning to believe that God does not exist. Some religious faiths believe that their way is the only way to salvation. Therefore, beliefs shape our opinions and we stick to our beliefs which eventually affects our reasoning.
Political beliefs are also hard to change because they can be hard-wired into our brain. Political beliefs might affect the ability to think logically because people do not wish to see things from another perspective. People with strong political beliefs use arguments that support their personal viewpoint. For example, a debate in the United States ensued about spending a significant portion of the budget on national defence but in a subsequent survey when participants were asked if military funding should be reduced, the respondents disagreed according to their political beliefs. It is evident that people immediately reject ideas that even slightly threaten their beliefs as it is considered as a direct attack on their identities. Therefore, beliefs do diminish our ability to reason because strong beliefs act as facts for people.
There are religious beliefs that place little to no boundaries on reasoning. Taoism and Paganism place few constraints over rational thinking. These religious belief systems, allow individuals to explore and develop your own path and ability to reason. Therefore, we can say that belief does not always hinder our ability to reason. However, the majority of religious beliefs create boundaries that hinder reasoning. These beliefs that have no basis in fact or proof cause the greatest distortion of perception. For example, religious beliefs rooted in Abrahamic religions or religions of Semitic origin like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, have many restrictions and boundaries. Strong religious beliefs reject facts and ideas that conflict with their boundaries. For example, Sharia laws demand the death penalty for issues like the abandonment of religious beliefs and blasphemy. Therefore, not all religions are created equally and many religious beliefs do hamper our ability to reason.
In
conclusion, it can be said that belief does have the ability to affect reason.
Beliefs cannot be easily changed and some beliefs also need reasoning. In most
cases, though we stick to our rational or irrational beliefs whether religious,
ideological or political which eventually affects our reasoning. Science
has the potential to change beliefs, but its ultimate impact is contingent upon
how literate, liberal and lucid people are.
