The fear of being wrong: an obstacle to Truth and morality

     One of the largest barriers we face in recognizing Truth or investigating our beliefs is the fear of being wrong. Nobody enjoys the feeling of being wrong especially about our most personal and valuable beliefs. Because of this, an investigation into the beliefs (or even an honest conversation about our beliefs) often represents a risk that is not worth taking. Additionally, if we are more interested in feeling good about the belief rather than the actual Truth of the belief, then to critically investigate our beliefs may feel very uncomfortable. For many of us, the very fact of investigating can only end up with a bad outcome: it wasn’t True after all. 

     Once we are convinced that the belief isn’t True, changes necessarily occur. How we choose to identify may change. How our friends and family treat us may change.  Our entire social community may change. Change is extremely hard for us because life is already hard. Shaking things up in your life and then finding your path again seems far to formidable a task to many people.  We already have our routines. We already have our schedules. As such, the fear of being wrong and having things change is a risk not worth taking. 

     If we are interested in gaining knowledge, then as we make learn, there is a very large chance we will be wrong at some point. This is a logical expectation. We could think about being wrong as progress actually: we are crossing one wrong idea of off the table, and therefore one step closer to the Truth.  We recognize that we must understand the Truth of a situation before we can have a True moral compass within that situation. In other words, we cannot know what is morally correct if we don’t know what is actually True to begin with. As such, we should encourage doubt and skepticism skepticism and doubt are both engines toward Truth. Furthermore, the Truth will always survive any amount of investigation, skepticism, or doubt that is applied to it. Lastly, overcoming the fear of being wrong is emotionally freeing and morally necessary. We could all be wrong. How do we determine what is True? 

(*psst* Truth requires evidence) 

(*psst again* faith is not evidence)