In Chapter 29, “
Adolf Eichmann and Me . . .,” Campbell argues that people believed the ludicrous claims he made on the radio because they were “so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager to believe and snarl and hate” (160). It was “unquestioning faith” that made them surrender their capacity to think, he says, and he characterizes their decision to believe without engaging their intellect as “terrifying and absolutely vile.” Many people celebrate the steadfastness of those who have “faith in things unseen.”
Can people rely on their intellect to provide them with a foundation for all their beliefs? Should they try? What role should learning play in the creation of our belief systems? Are the beliefs of educated people to be more trusted than those of uneducated people?
The trailer below is for the 2007 film
Eichmann.
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. Whatever they may be. To believe something blindly without thinking about it for yourself is dangerous. Having faith in what other people tell you without doing the research yourself gives them power and control over your beliefs. I think regardless if the person is educated or uneducated you should take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Take control of your own life and use your brain to understand what you believe.
ReplyDeletePeople should use intellect and reason when considering their beliefs. Questioning and thinking through what you think and hear will strengthen your understanding of ideas and help you make informed choices. Placing all of your trust with blind faith into the hands of other people’s movements and ideas is relinquishing control of your mind to another person. Although the beliefs of educated people may be backed up with more credible information, no one should assume that an educated belief is any more correct than an uneducated belief.
ReplyDeleteAn uneducated person's belief are generally beliefs that are passed from one person to another and until someone who is educated intervenes and verifies that the belief is true then there is a distinct possibility that the belief held by the uneducated person is one that is unfounded. A person without some degree of education is likely to be taken in by someone who is educated and is of a slightly immoral character. An educated person is able to look at a belief that they are confronted with and determine for themselves if that belief is true, if that belief is completely hollow, and if those beliefs are ones of a moral and good origins or if they are ones from immoral and evil origins. An uneducated person is forced to trust the word of the person who is translating the belief for them and even if the translations are way off topic of the original belief.
ReplyDeleteAn uneducated person's belief are generally beliefs that are passed from one person to another and until someone who is educated intervenes and verifies that the belief is true, until then there is a distinct possibility that the belief held by the uneducated person is one that is unfounded. A person without some degree of education is likely to be taken in by someone who is educated and is of a slightly immoral character. An educated person is able to look at a belief that they are confronted with and determine for themselves if that belief is true, if that belief is completely hollow, and if those beliefs are ones of a moral and good origins or if they are ones from immoral and evil origins. An uneducated person is forced to trust the word of the person who is translating the belief for them and even if the translation is way off topic of the original belief. (revised and corrected)
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between being educated and being skeptical, James?
ReplyDeleteBethany, do you think students place their trust "into the hands of other people’s movements and ideas" and are thereby "relinquishing control of [their] mind to another person"?
ReplyDelete