Epistemology is the word used to embrace theories associated with the nature, origins and limits of knowledge. What is knowledge? By one definition knowledge is a Justified True Belief, a JTB. The question, what is belief? One answer is this: Belief is Propositional Attitude. A proposition is a statement that can be either true or false, the attitude is whether you believe the statement is true or whether you believe the statement is false and when the definition of Knowledge holds firm and is reflected in reality you can justify the truth or falseness of the proposition. It's a lot of words for something that would be obvious if it weren't for the truth or otherwise of the proposition: there are a bunch of other things an understanding of belief needs to take into account before reaching a conclusion. Here the next category of contemplation comes under the title of psychology and cognition. Belief is a mental acceptance that gives shape to the world we live in. This shape allows us to navigate our world according to our belief systems and gives us a basis upon which to interpret new information. It makes our mental life possible. Worth noting that much of what we believe is lodged in more distant parts of the mind, we don't have to concentrate too hard on a majority of our mind-to-world connections for them to work. Things like waking up in our own bed and having confidence the staircase is where we last saw it. A third area in the contemplation of belief is the extent to which belief is active, as opposed to passive. An example of this, those of us with dispositions to leave nothing to chance, might become a little obsessive about wearing clean underwear every day in the event of a hospitalization or a romantic interlude, others shrug away these sort of pointless gestures and hold fast to the inevitability of disappointment. Then you have nuances within the word belief. Justified or not you have a belief in, a trust and faith in something being true because wouldn't it be nice of there was a fruitcake in the mail. And you can have a belief that a proposition is true, of course they fill doughnuts with strawberry jam and Vegemite, everyone knows that. So there you have it, I'd call it a serviceable End of The Enlightenment that Heralds the Dawn of Post Irony Critique of Pure Reason. And again I'll ask why has our frail, toothless, non-tree-climbing species evolved in this rich and magnificent, incredibly dangerous and cruel-hearted manner. My own answer is less to do with "it'll be over soon" and more to do with Arendt's expression Spontaneous Beginnings. Go ahead call it a big bang god with absolutely no plan, no design, a randomness containing an open mouthed, wide-eyed expression that screams. Or you can be good to yourself by putting it in the context of the respected yet anti-social Schopenhauer's irrational restlessness. You can make it up as you navigate your way to the Rapture and when you believe it, true or not, it becomes knowledge. Truth isn't an invincible oneness, it's not a Genghis Khan, nor is it putting man on Mars or nailing him to a cross. Truth is no closed doors, it's hallowed ground, it's a little bit of everything and a sense of calm.
