Truth Quote - John Reseck

"Begin by believing with all your heart that belief is true so that it will work for you, but then face the possibility that it is really false so that you can accept the consequences of the belief."

- John Reseck

The quotation by John Reseck encourages you to be open minded and at the same time have enough faith in your ideals. This quote works on the same concept that my belief could be truth for me but at the same time can not be truth for you. It goes one step further if it can be justified and that would be knowledge. However there comes a debate wherein knowledge can also be personal, in the sense you can justify it when someone else can not. For example, if I were to experience a miracle, for me miracles can occur would be knowledge because my experiencing it would be the justification and result in knowledge. Because someone else may have a contrasting belief and because it is not justified, the fact that miracles happen would not be knowledge to them.

Another aspect Reseck covers is the faith we have in ourself to believe what we say can be true. We should not assert our beliefs or impose them on anyone, however we do need to have opinions and at the same time be open to varying ideologies. Reseck then goes on to say that we must be ready to face the possibilities that the belief is false. I, in fact, do not agree with the fact that a belief can possibly be false as the verity of something varies from individual to individual and there is no universal law that tells us which beliefs are right and wrong. As belief is very subjective, we have to dismiss the possibility it can be wrong and hence this quote does not hold. If I do believe in something, I do have justifications for my belief and universally i may be told it is wrong. But it is wrong on the basis of the parameters set by others and as soon as that happens it seizes to be personal. Of course, We do need to be open to various beliefs and integrate it with our own if possible, but there is no such thing as a false belief. If we take Plato into consideration, there may be such a thing as a true belief which is empirically determined i.e. justified but this true belief holds because it appeals to a mass. Just because a belief doesn’t have a universal appeal, does not allow anyone to label it as false.