On Science and Belief: Inner Strength Comes from Consistency

I. A Consistent System

People with inner strength all have a consistent system encompassing a complete worldview and set of values.

With a consistent system, the various facts and opinions in your mind can coexist peacefully—in other words, you do not wear yourself out fighting yourself.

With a consistent system, other people's judgments, whether praise or blame, will not greatly affect your emotions, because you have a mature set of standards for evaluating yourself.

With a consistent system, you can quickly incorporate anything new into it and accept new things somewhat faster than others.

With a consistent system, you are full of motivation because you firmly believe that what you do is meaningful. People always remain enthusiastic about things they consider meaningful.

Once such a consistent system is established, a person is filled with strength, highly motivated to act, and difficult for outside influences to sway. Outwardly, this gives the impression of inner strength.

What this consistent system consists of—science or theology, communism or pragmatism, freedom and democracy or sophisticated self-interest—actually does not matter.

II. Consistent Beliefs

Divination was popular in the Shang dynasty. People recorded predictions and their outcomes on turtle shells; the writing on them later became known as "oracle-bone inscriptions." This method looks foolish today, but people then sincerely believed in it, and the Shang dynasty still lasted more than five hundred years.

Prophetic interpretations of texts were popular in the Han dynasty. Most educated people believed that scattered phrases in songs and ancient books contained omens of the future. They also believed in correspondence between Heaven and humanity: auspicious signs indicated enlightened government, while natural disasters showed political failings on the ruler's part. Few people questioned these baseless associations at the time, nor did they prevent people from living normal lives.

Beginning in the Tang and Song dynasties, fortune-telling through the Eight Characters of one's birth gradually became popular. As it developed and spread, it became a substantial current of thought. Many famous people had their fortunes told this way, and the method survives to this day. From official circles to ordinary society, many use the Eight Characters to tell their fortunes, including wealthy people and those in power. Whether they are right or wrong, they do control substantial social resources.

Different eras have different methods of prediction and all kinds of beliefs. Yet people always think that what they believe is truth, while what others believe is superstition.

With beliefs differing so greatly, which is correct? Could they all be wrong? Or could they all be right?

Actually, none of this matters.

What matters is that people are not fools. Everyone chooses to believe a series of facts and opinions on the basis of their life experience and what they have seen and heard. If those beliefs are compatible with their actual lives, believing them will only benefit them.

For example, business information is abundant and complex, and some businesspeople face many choices. Sometimes their problem may be less about choosing the right path than about whether they can commit firmly to any one path. If a businessperson insists on being scientific but lacks the ability to undertake scientific verification on such a large scale, they may spend every day agonizing and needlessly miss business opportunities. They might really have been better off going straight to a fortune-teller to find out whether they were suited to a "water" industry or a "wood" industry.

Another example: some mock religious believers by saying, "This is modern society, and humanity has landed on the Moon. Why do you still believe in gods created centuries ago?" What they fail to recognize is that most believers have gained a consistent system through faith, steadfastly do what they believe is right, and live happy lives. And in the final analysis, is happiness not what humanity seeks?

III. Belief and Science

Then again, among those who believe in science and communism, those who have sworn an oath before the Party flag, how many have read Marx's works? Can they rigorously demonstrate that Marxism is the correct theory?

Most have no time for such a demonstration, or no inclination. Most just muddle the fuck through life, and many speak against their convictions when taking the oath. Others have merely formed a judgment on the basis of past experience and what they have seen and heard. This is still fundamentally belief; it cannot yet be called science, because science requires empirical evidence and logical proof.

I am the same. Based on my own experiences and what I have seen and heard, I regard Marxism as a scientific theory, believe in it, work hard to study it, and have formed a consistent system. But I know very well that Marxism has not yet reached the point where everyone will accept it. So unlike some other leftists, I never proselytize. I simply introduce Marxist views and do not mind at all if readers disagree. I am also more willing to draw conclusions from actual evidence and find common ground with everyone on more specific matters.

Historical experience tells us that whether worldviews and values are scientific affects neither the functioning of society nor an individual's achievements and happiness. I therefore choose to respect everyone's beliefs. Respecting someone's beliefs means respecting their past, their experiences, and what they have seen and heard. These experiences and observations are objectively existing facts. Is respecting facts not the scientific spirit? Besides, if you cannot even respect others, what right do you have to change them?

IV. Seek Happiness Rather Than Correctness

The increasingly specialized social division of labor has diversified social thought. This is an established fact. These varied ideas constantly collide in the virtual space of the internet, leaving people bewildered. Many believe certain online opinions that happen to be incompatible with their actual lives. This causes pain and internal conflict because their mental system is no longer consistent. This is the root of most anxiety and depression in modern society.

To escape anxiety and internal conflict, then, you must respect your own feelings and your own eyes and ears. Set aside law and morality, religion and science for the moment. First find a way to explain the world you observe and a system that convinces you, then keep improving that system.

Once you have a consistent system, you will find yourself becoming confident, decisive, positive, and inwardly strong. Life becomes meaningful—and you become happy.

So I do not wish for everyone to become a correct person. I wish for everyone to become a happy person: someone with a consistent system and inner strength.

-END-

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