How to Think Rationally

Consistency and Objectivity

 Is it a problem that we can never truly know things with absolute and unquestionable certainty? No, not really. But if "good reason" is what we need to subscribe to conclusions, what constitutes a "good reason?" 

There was a time where the best possible explanation was that the sun revolves around the Earth, or that the Earth was flat. We were wrong about those things, but it was rational to believe them because it only makes sense to believe the most logical explanation available to us. 

So therefore, there is a key element besides truth that we must value to obtain knowledge. But what is it?

When we observe the roll of the dice we often observe that it is not consistent. Certainly, with numerous values painted on the dice rolling a different number seems inevitable. 

In contrast, when we are young we may accidently put our naked hands on a boiling pot to learn that heat causes pain very consistently. 

If we value something as true, we have likely given it a characteristic of being constantly true, or consistent. If something was to break that pattern, the truth of it would be shattered. 

Therefore, observation of consistency is a determining factor of truth as we know it.

Next, we must hold that something is true not just to ourselves, but to everyone around us as well. This is called objective truth. 

Sure, things can be subjective, meaning that people interpret them in different ways. 

However the way to determine if a subjective truth is valid requires going a step further back to determine the objective cause of the subjective truth. 

For example, some people suffer from a condition known as sleep paralysis. When they try to sleep, they will see figures that are subjective to them. Demons, ghosts, people are all examples of the types of hallucinations or visions they witness.

Though these visions take different forms, the underlying cause is the same. Their brain thinks they are asleep, locking down the body from movement and inducing dreams while they are indeed awake.

Similarly, things that may seem different to people can have similar causes, and sometimes more than one cause can bring about the same conclusion. 

The key to finding objectivity in truth is to be very specific, and claim as little as possible, leaving little room for error. 

Certain Buddhist monks are known to put such a mindset into practice. Instead of saying, " I see a monkey," they may say, "I am perceiving a hairy, brown, small, agile thing." 

They do this because they do not want to fall to vanity of interpretation. We should all have such a mindset when in comes to perceiving truth. 

Then objectivity, is also a key factor to truth.