Circles of Truth

In the book The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collins provides a visual image for truth.  He says:

"Let's consider a set of concentric circles. In the center are truth claims that are universal and inescapable. In the outermost circle are claims where no evidence exits to favor acceptance or rejection, so these are essentially just subjective opinions. And then there are the levels in between."

The circles are from the innermost outward:

• Zone of Necessary Truth - items that just have to be the way they are.  For example, 2+2=4.
• Firmly established facts - "These are conclusions that are overwhelmingly supported by evidence, but discerning them has required human observation."  For example, the earth is round.
• Zone of Uncertainty - "Claims that are potentially true but whose supporting evidence is currently insufficient to move them into the circle of firmly established facts." For example, life on other planets
• Zone of Subjective Opinion - For example, dogs make better pets than cats.

As we traveled through our last election cycle (and the two before it), I found there were things I considered to be firmly established facts, that other people didn't. And I would encounter what some people called firmly established facts that for me, were not truth at all.  I think this is part of what divides us - we can't even agree on what is true and what is not true - even though some of these categories are objective.

Later in the chapter, he talks about commonalities that we an all agree on and that can be used to bring us back together.  Think of these as pillars that represent the values we all probably share: faith, family, freedom, truth, beauty, love, goodness.  He sees this as good news.  Truthfully (haha), I worry that we don't all share these values. We say we do, but we argue about them so much, and what they mean, that I'm not sure they can be used to bring us together.

Book Review: Road to Wisdom

 Information about the book

Collins, Francis S.  The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust,  Little, Brown, and Company. New York. 2024. (Amazon)

Summary

From Amazon: "As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, we have become not just a hyper-partisan society but also a deeply cynical one, distrustful of traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom. Skepticism about vaccines led to the needless deaths of at least 230,000 Americans. “Do your own research” is now a rallying cry in many online rabbit holes. Yet experts can make mistakes, and institutions can lose their moral compass. So how can we navigate through all this?

In The Road to Wisdom, Francis Collins reminds us of the four core sources of judgement and clear thinking: truth, science, faith, and trust. Drawing on his work from the Human Genome Project and heading the National Institutes of Health, as well as on ethics, philosophy, and Christian theology, Collins makes a robust, thoughtful case for each of these sources—their reliability, and their limits. Ultimately, he shows how they work together, not separately—and certainly not in conflict. Dr. Francis Collins was the head of the Human Genome Project, and is a world-leading scientist.  He is also a person of faith.  From the back cover of the book: "Dr. Collins believes that faith in God and faith in science can coexist within a person and be harmonious.  In The Language of God he makes his case for God and for science."

Impressions

My pastor, in a sermon, mentioned this book. She had seen Francis Collins interviewed on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (interesting interview). I was in the middle of the Religion and Science class and had read The Language of God by Francis Collins this summer.

I enjoyed the book. I especially found the chapter that talks about truth to be interesting - truth as concentric circles.  I don't think I've written a post about it, but I should.  As I mentioned, I read The Language of God prior to the Religion and Science class - in some ways, I think this book would have been a better prequel to the class - impossible for me, since it came out int eh middle of the class, but for future reference....

I would recommend this book.

Posts about book

Collins Road

The Christian Ideal

 I'm reading Francis Collin's book, The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust. I've just started the chapter on faith. 

Collins quotes G.K. Chesterton, who said, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting . It has been found difficult; and left untried." I read that, and though about the reaction people would have if I made that a Facebook post on my page. I think just about everyone would agree with it, no matter how their faith journey is moving. I think they would almost all (not everyone, but many) would think, "Yes, that's what the other side is doing. They have given up on (or are ignoring) the teachings of Christ.

I think this response - to judge others for something we should examine in our lives - is hypocritical.  And it is not lost on me that I am doing it right now! I think a statement such as Chesterson's isn't meant to provide us with more ammunition to battle each other, but instead should be a moment of self reflection. It should be a yardstick against which we should measure our own thoughts and actions - not others'.

Surely we wouldn't say we have found the Christian ideal wanting.  Have we tried the it and found it too difficult?  Or have we completely failed to try it at all? And I don't mean that other guy.  I mean you and me.

Wisdom

Hoover Dam

"Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; it is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 4:6

I'm reading Francis Collins' new book, The Road to Wisdom: on Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust. I started it today, and in the first seven pages, he starts talking about what wisdom means. 

But what does wisdom mean? It is not the same as knowledge, though it depends on it.  Wisdom includes the understanding and incorporation of a moral framework. But it goes even further. When its's working, wisdom can lead to sober judgement about how to discern truth, and what decision to make when the path is not clear. It includes experience, common sense, and insight.

Do you feel like that sometimes we as a society have devalued knowledge and wisdom? We disparage people who have gone to college. (Understand that I do not mean to downplay those who have not chosen that path - I think we shouldn't sell either way short). We make fun of "nerds." It feels like we have lost sight of the value of study, knowledge, and wisdom.

Not only that, but we have begun to distrust science and logical thought. We do our "research" on Facebook and ignore true research by professionals. One only has to look at the number of people who refused vaccinations in the pandemic to see this at work.

And yet, Collins lines out the value of knowledge and wisdom. It increases our ability to discern truth and to make decisions when the path is not clear. I really think in our society we need to increase our ability to discern the truth and to make good decisions.

I'm looking forward to reading this book.