Spectrum of theistic probability

[GliderGuider]

30. For me the problem is in the word "know"

How do I "know" something, to the extent that there is no need for "belief"? I can decide I know something if I have experienced it directly, or if I trust the source of my information sufficiently. Other than that, I'm stuck with some level of belief. The closer that needle is to the center, the more need there is for belief to come to the rescue. If one feels the compulsion to be certain, the only way to get that certainty is by substituting some level of belief for the knowledge one doesn't have.

Belief in anything gives rise to its own set of problems, not least of which is that it governs one's actions based not on reality but on one's internal state of mind. Even worse, strong belief implies little actual knowledge since the two are inversely proportional, and strong belief becomes dogma.

I prefer the uncertainty of not-knowing: of accepting low-knowledge situations without feeling compelled to "top up the glass" with belief. If there is a little fear involved, so much the better. Wisdom lies inside the fear, and can only be discovered by moving towards it.

So yes, I'm an extreme agnostic in that sense, with aspirations to be a Pyrrhonian skeptic.