Strong beliefs prevent people from thinking clearly about issues

We all know that we are driven by some set of beliefs; which might have been passed through our ancestors, upbringing, society or the education system. But are those beliefs hindering our thoughts? Well, to answer that let’s turn some pages from our history where we have many examples that suggests some strong beliefs are strong for a good reason- Galileo’s strong belief in a heliocentric Universe (sun-centered) led to a very important astronomical discovery, for instance. Strong beliefs can cloud our thinking only when it is driven by misguided ideals, emotions and irrationality; not when the beliefs are logical and genuine.

It was in the 17th century when Galileo proposed his heliocentric belief to the Catholic Church which at that time strongly believed in the geocentric model of the Universe. Without a doubt, Galileo was strongly opposed for his theory and even charged for heresy because at that time opposing any Church teachings were punishable by death. Although he was spared torture and death, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was shunned and threatened by the Church members for his belief yet, he did not change his belief. He knew what he was doing because his strong belief was not irrational or peremptory but it was based on years of observation and research. It was his willingness to change his own belief on geocentric universe on the face of the new evidence that led to this discovery. The discovery we all now accept and learn from the very early age that, it’s the Earth that revolves around the Sun.

Similarly, Charles Darwin - the father of evolution, had he not questioned the strong belief that existed –all of us were created “according to their kind” by God – at that time period, we would not have any explanation for the diversity of life. It was his theory of evolution that initially challenged long-held religious belief system that bred a new belief that all the species, including human beings had developed over time due to constant and random change. This theory was immediately ridiculed by the churches because it directly contradicted the core Church teachings. Regardless of the brutal backlash and rebuttal he received, he stood firm on his belief and thus, thousand years later he is still considered one of the greatest scientists ever born.

Sometimes, leaders need to have strong belief in order to bring their ideas into reality. We would not be carrying thousands of songs in our pocket if it was not for Steve Jobs’s unwavering beliefs which gave us iPods or, the world wide informations would not have been one click away if it was not for Larry Page who believed that he could turn his idea into fruition by creating Google- the worldwide search engine. However, some might argue that this is not always the case and, in the past, there has been instances where strong belief led to violence and dismay. For example, centuries ago Hindus strongly believed in Sati Pratha (widows burning on funeral pyre with their husband) as a highly religious practice. Some women voluntarily jumped into the pyre simply because it was strongly believed by many as the right thing to do. And there are many similar cases to this such witch-hunts (killing women based on accusations of witchcraft), Chhaupadi (making menstruating women sleep in hut similar to cowshed) - but clearly this strong belief here is highly preposterous. These beliefs have neither been driven by logic nor by rationality. It is simply a blind faith driven by tradition, malice and emotion.

People with strong beliefs have the power to change the world for good when their beliefs are directed by logic and evidence. However, when those beliefs are guided by whim or misguided ideals, our thoughts are occluded. Thus, it is not the strong belief that obstructs rationality but the driving force of the belief you carry.