One of
the dangers in holding beliefs even though there are facts to prove it wrong is
death. For example the Nazi's believe that Jews are the reason everything bad
happens to them. When in reality it’s their own decisions that make them have
the problems they have. Yesterday, a man who is semi Nazi, killed three people
at a Jewish Center. Because this man believed that he should hate Jews and be
against them, he killed three innocent people.
Pangloss himself is a good example as well. He
let the fact that everything happens for a reason cause him to die. His beliefs
went too far and he stuck with it. Yes it makes him a faithful person but it
also makes him a dead person as well. If it was me I would probably try to
fight to stay alive and realize that death is not my purpose until I’m older
and have really experienced life.
Asides from death being a consequence from believing in something that is untrue perhaps being considered awkward, or strange or even crazy may be a few as well. Not to mention, the dangers one has in preaching something that is not true, as we all know, language is power and most beings are not very strong-willed, meaning they could be persuaded easily by the use of rhetoric, specifically by the philosophers in this case. Unless of course you happen to be the old man that challenges the beliefs of Pangloss, by a rather unclear argument. All of this to say, like you mentioned, that things could go wrong when you have others believing the same thing. An example of this would be the same way Pangloss convinced Candide that everything was for the best and finally, Candide had to realize that his was not so the hard way.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think it gets worse than death to be held due to believing in something that might not be true. Your actions and what you say may lead you to consequences depending on the experience of an individual. Pangloss is a philosopher and he will not let anything go against his beliefs even if there was enough evidence to prove his beliefs wrong. So when it came down to him having to face death he believed that it was ment to happen. How could he believe in such a thing and not go against it? There is so much life has to offer.. can he believe in that
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