Belief and Thought

Ideas are held; beliefs are lived.

To truly understand a person and their life, we must first explore their ideas. Since Europeans have embraced a “historical sense,” this has become a fundamental requirement. How could a person’s ideas, and the ideas of their time, not impact their existence? This is evident. Yet, the ambiguity surrounding what we seek when probing a person’s ideas — whether of an individual or an era — often obscures clarity about their life and history.

The phrase “a person’s ideas” can denote various concepts. For instance, it might refer to the thoughts they generate about different topics, as well as those ideas they adopt from others. These thoughts can vary in their degrees of truth, including even “scientific truths.” However, such distinctions are less significant when considering a more profound question. Whether these are casual thoughts or rigorous scientific theories, they all emerge from a pre-existing life. Before an idea manifests, the person already exists. Thus, every human life is inherently constructed around fundamental beliefs, shaping how they interact with the world and themselves. This world and self are encountered through interpretations, or “ideas” about reality.

Here, we discover a different layer of ideas. These foundational beliefs, which I term “creeds,” arise not from a specific moment of thought but are ingrained in our existence. They are not merely thoughts we possess, nor are they even complex rational arguments. Rather, these deep-seated beliefs form the foundation of our…