When I think back on my past, there have been times when I have been wrong. At the time, I thought I was right, sometimes quite fervently so. But then I got new data, or had new experiences, or heard a convincing argument, and so I changed my mind. My beliefs changed.
Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘What beliefs do you have that might be wrong?’ We also discuss another question as well, ‘What makes a place feel like home?’
Logically, it seems likely that there is something that I believe right now that is wrong, although of course right now I think it is right. That’s true for all of us.
What beliefs do you have that might be wrong?
Related questions: What do you believe? What is necessary to change your mind? How do we know what we don’t know?
I believe humans will successfully work to halt, adapt to, and survive climate change. I could be wrong.
Climate change is currently having devastating impacts on our planet and for its inhabitants. Populated islands are disappearing and coastlines are receding, forcing residents to move and compete for already scarce resources, accelerating the potential for conflict or even wars across the globe. Bugs, plants, and four-legged furry creatures are also being forced to migrate to places with climates closer to their prior homes, bringing with them diseases once not seen in certain areas as well as forcing urban areas to contend with new tenants. In my home, Minnesota, temperature changes and the increase of carbon in the air are adding to the number of days allergens are present. My lungs are not happy.
But by disposition, I am a hopeful person when it comes to humanity. Thus, while the federal government is retreating on studying how to reverse (or simply maintain at current levels of) this already-present catastrophe, I am inspired by what other countries are doing and the increase in the private and non-profit sectors’ work here in the U.S. to slow down or hold the line on climate change (e.g. increased use and promotion of renewable energy).
While some very wise people warn that climate change could bring extinction not just of other species, but humanity itself, I believe we will survive. There will be fewer of us, and we will be living in climates less hospitable than today, but I am confident we will adapt and survive.
But I could be wrong. Climate change is accelerating. Those working to ameliorate the impacts may not be able to keep up.
I hope my confidence in humanity’s can-do spirit proves correct.
When I was younger, I believed that people were all basically the same. As I’ve grown to realize that isn’t true, I see how that belief limited my ability to see people for who they are. Today, I try to listen to who people are rather than assume I already know.
I’m a meat eater, and I believe that eating meat is morally justified. But I’m willing to consider the possibility that I’m wrong about that.
I’ve long held the belief that all people have some good in them. These days, I’m struggling with this belief.