The Power of Conviction

It is a curious fact that, in my observation, people seem to have strong convictions only about that which is unknown or even unknowable.  Imagine someone expressing the conviction that the force of gravity follows an inverse square law.  We just do not hear people expressing strong convictions about well-established facts on which there is widespread agreement.

People express convictions about religion, politics, the best way to raise children, the best sports teams, and the best schools to attend.  You do not typically hear convictions expressed about the general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, or the atomic structure of matter.  These ideas have been very carefully built up from piles of evidence and careful, rigorous logic.  There is no need for convictions.

The very fact that someone feels a need to express a conviction is, to me, an admission that something is a shaky proposition.  In other words, strength of conviction typically does not correlate with the actual probability that something is true, but usually quite the opposite.  I would even add one more category to those on which people typically express convictions: unknown, unknowable, and demonstrably false.

Many convictions do not really deal with truth at all in any objective way.  Some convictions are about how we ought to best treat each other.  This is part of the broader categories of ethics and morals.  I do have opinions about this that may rise to the level of convictions, and I will likely express them at some point.  However, this is more human convention than anything else.  It does not go against my assertion that strength of conviction is unrelated to truth.

I have not yet mentioned God, so I will do that now.  Some people have the conviction that they speak for God or that they know what God wants other people to do.  These convictions may include God's word being available in a particular book.  These types of claims are many and varied.  I do not doubt the strength of convictions such as these.  What I question is that the strength of a conviction constitutes proof of anything whatsoever.

My approach to questions of God and religion is pragmatic.  Do what works for you.  Do what helps you make sense of things and helps you find meaning, and leave me free to do the same.  Above all, do not assume that what you have found to work for you necessarily works for everyone, and give up the notion that it represents any sort of absolute universal truth.  It is enough that it works for you.

Remember that your strength of conviction proves nothing.  Of course, I have merely been expressing my convictions on this subject.  So you are free to take it or leave it.  I have not proved anything either.