In the last year, I have been interested in defining life through triads related to cognitive powers. I still don’t know why I am driven by threes. Am I influenced with the Trinity? Time will tell. Here is the first of these triands.
Influenced by Russell’s school of thought, I find that our cognitive powers differentiate between three levels of knowing that would classify people’s attitude towards understanding life: Religion, Philosophy and Science. (Note: later, I refined it to faith, reason and empirical observation. More to come).
Religion is the knowing based on belief where reason and thinking have a low role in the process. In most cases, the derived knowledge is virtual. It is a state where individuals follow the thought of others blindly even when it defies reason).
Philosophy is the knowing that depends highly on reason and thinking. It is not necessary observable or testable. Opinion and personal knowledge has a role although it tries to use facts more than religion would do. It is a personalized knowledge building based on premises developed by the individual. These premises undergo processes of reasoning to build up the knowledge structure of the individual.
Science is the knowledge based on observable and repeatable facts or on mathematical formulation. It has one premises which is the empirical scientific method. An individual of this type are ready to change their knowledge based on the results of the experiment of the mathematical derivation.
Humans have different varieties of cognitive reliance in each area. In my case, the below chart demonstrates how I perceive my cognitive. The chart is not conclusive, but it was developed partially bases on religious belief (what I believe how I see myself), partly philosophical (how I think my powers related to each other) and partially scientific (where I use number 5 as my scientific power then compare the other two cognition to it):
[image not displayable by Word Press The values are: Religion=3, Science=5, Philosophy=7]
Will the future prove me that there are more? I don’t know. But for now, it is a triad. (Note: later, the idea moved from a triad to a continuum where faith/religion is at one end, scientific/empirical is at the other end and reasoning/philosophy is somewhere in the middle).