"First You Decide, Then We Will Study."

In this two-part blog, I am going to talk about politics; well, sort-of, but not really.  In this two-part blog, I am going to talk about atheism and belief in God; well, sort-of, but not really.  What I am going to talk about is being human; something we can all relate to being.  I am going to talk about a spiritual/philosophical/psychological dynamic of being human which I am finding very curious these days.  I believe whole-heartedly that humans are more loyal to their own egos than to the truth; that humans can take very little reality without having to put their defenses up and say “no.”  There comes a point in conscience development when the mind stops accepting things as they are, and begins to try to bend them to how they are desired to be.  And, while I believe it is the job of philosophy and psychology to help diagnose and understand this phenomenon, I believe spirituality and psychology can offer a way out of the situation (if that is even desired). 

I begin with a story I heard in college: a man comes to a rabbi, and asks to study the Torah and Prophets.  The rabbi asks, “Why do you want to study?”  The man says, “Rabbi, I am trying to study all the religions because I want to see which one is most true.  So I am studying them all, and then I will decide on which is the most true.”  The rabbi said, “I will not teach you.”  The man upset asks, “Why Rabbi? I want to study, I am genuinely interested. Will you not teach me?”  And the rabbi answered, “No, first you decide, then we will study.”

I have always been intrigued by this story, and the rabbi’s demand: “first you decide, then we will study.”  And whether I like it or not that is how we as humans come to our knowledge as time goes on; we make a decision, and then we study.  The error of this order is obvious, but necessary in many ways.  Pre-conceived belief is an easier way for our minds to take in mass amounts of contradictory data.  Without a belief or beginning prejudice this process would almost be impossible. However, once one decides on a point-of-view, then one begins to see how information and facts help fortify that view.  Likewise, one sees more readily facts and information that attack or dismiss any opposing view.  In the long-run, without another opening up of the mind, the mind begins to be completely warped by prejudice or beliefs; and data collection will inevitably shut-down. What is worse, is that the ego begins to identify itself with the belief; or perhaps it is better to say, that the idea or prejudice becomes more of a matter of ego than truth: the ego's identity is in the belief.  To see the consequences, one only need to look around our world today.

For an example let us take our current Presidential race. Many many have decided long ago who they were going to vote for in this election (Was that necessary? Responsible?).  And once they made that decision, they usually only see data that confirms and conforms to their view or prejudice; likewise they dismiss any data that attacks their view.  Take a look and you will see Pro-Hillary Clinton persons see very little or nothing wrong with her.  Every bump in the road is a challenge she rose up against; she is not a messiah, but she is certainly on a pedestal.  Everything her opponents say, whether it is Donald Trump or Gary Johnson is wrong, and deserves condemnation.  Likewise, many who support Donald Trump laud him. They see that he does nothing or little wrong (and if he does it pales in comparison to the treachery of the opponents).  Likewise, they can see no good in either Hillary Clinton or Gary Johnson, both would literally “ruin” this country.  Supporters of Gary Johnson…well, I think my point is clear.  In reality, if we are honest, all three are human beings; and being human does mean that they are not 100% evil, or 100% great: those are abstract concepts, not human beings. Likewise, their supporters are not 100% evil or 100% good; again an abstract concept.  And what does it mean if one can honestly say they find NOTHING wrong with the views of their candidate, or NOTHING good about the views of the persons they are not voting for?

But we will explore this more in the second half when we correlate it to belief in God.  I leave the reader with a challenge: can you observe yourself apart from yourself?  Can you see and identify your beliefs and prejudices (whether good or bad) and how they affect the data and news you see?