Consider a basket of apples, where the basket is your mind and the apples are your beliefs. Now consider that if you have even a single rotten apple in your basket, it will contaminate all of the other apples. Essentially, this analogy suggests that one bad belief could destabilize your entire worldview.
This was the problem that Descartes encountered in his adventures with epistemology. How could you know anything you believe is actually true, when you know that you hold many false beliefs? Are a few incorrect beliefs interfering with the rest of your belief system? And how could you possibly hope to know truth in a world that takes pleasure in its unending moral, physical, religious, political, social and scientific ambiguities?
That’s a big question. But truth is important, and it’s worth seeking out.
If I have learned a single thing in college, it’s that the world is incredibly complex, full of impeding intricacies, unending exceptions and innumerable nuances. Take any subject you could possibly consider, and there are people who have produced books, speeches and projects on the subject that you couldn’t even begin to grasp without significant study. The amount of knowledge to be gained, expertise to be acquired and wisdom to be found is far beyond the limits of any single person.
Our university provides an incredible environment in which one might pursue all kinds of knowledge, wisdom and action. You can take classes in philosophy and engineering, listen to world leaders share their expertise, take an accomplished professor out to lunch and start a club to address a social injustice. This column, taglined “simple complexity,” is a celebration of that idea. In the midst of simply mind-bending complexity, here we are, trying to make sense of it all.
It’s simple, really; we can’t know all things, but we can try to learn some.
In this column, I will discuss politics, ethics, religion, the value of effective and creative altruism and other topics in light of this concept. I’ll write about why it’s important to give, and give generously. I’ll ponder the moral challenges of living in a college bubble. And of course, I’ll explore why the rhetoric of demagogues has dangerous implications for our country.
But, inevitably, I’m going to make mistakes. I’ll use a weak adjective when I should’ve used a stronger one, I’ll unwittingly consider a correlation to be a cause and I’ll end a sentence with a preposition when there were better sentence structures I could have made use of. But I’m going to keep on thinking and writing anyways.
Because what other option is there? Sure, there may be ambiguity, but if that’s the cost of seeking truth, then so be it. We’re not doing ourselves any favors by withholding pursuits of truth just because it’s difficult. So while I recognize the complexity and moral ambiguity of the world, I’m not going to avoid ambitious topics, I’m not going to dodge counterpoints and I’m not going to shy away from bold claims.
In his quest to fill his basket with healthy apples, Descartes came to the conclusion that he had to throw out all of his beliefs and start with a simple, baseline declaration of truth: “I think, therefore I am.” From that single truth, he was able to review, rethink and rediscover the world and his role in it.
Point taken, Descartes. I hope that in our own quests for truth, we’ll be able to not only recognize the simple complexity that surrounds us, but also enjoy the process of finding it.
So here’s to that search, and here’s to some good apples.
David Wohlever Sánchez is a Trinity sophomore.
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