The Malleable Man

Statements about the Universe may be placed into one of two categories; those that are falsifiable, and those that are non-falsifiable.

Falsifiable statements refer to claims that may be systematically disproved through rigorous experimentation. For example, the statement: "Liquid water boils at 100 degrees celsius" may be disproved if an individual brings water to 100 degrees without observing boiling. This is distinct from a non-falsifiable statement. Consider: "All living creatures share a spiritual connection." Regardless of one's ingenuity, there is no experimental design that may disprove the above claim. Anytime anyone claims they cannot detect a spiritual aura; I can dismiss their defined measurement as flawed. I can do this out of hand because all metaphysical phenomena, by definition, cannot be physically measured. Some have used this property to dismiss non-falsifiable statements as unworthy of deep consideration. This essay will critique this neglect.

I contend that the ideal state should be of continual conscious acceptance or rejection of a suite of non-falsifiable statements. This state is embodied by an individual henceforth referred to as the Malleable Man.¹

Carl Sagan once described faith as "belief in the absence of evidence." When he said this, he was negatively comparing it to the scientific method wherein one "witholds belief until evidence is presented." Under Sagan's definition, believing in any non-falsifiable statement is an act of faith. I agree with his definitions, but I believe Sagan's negative characterization misses some important points.

First is that faith is (probably) a uniquely human characteristic. Most organisms base their actions on what their senses tell them. No non-human organism has yet demonstrated the capability of believing in something without any sensory evidence to support it. In this regard, humans are likely unique.

I do not mean this as a ding against humanity. Believing in some non-falsifiable statements is probably a good thing. For example, I can believe that sometime in the future the world will be a beautiful and just Utopia. I might have some inherent intuition for the likelihood of such a future, but what I don't have is a crystal ball. I can never say with 100% certainty that the future will not look as I envision it.² Importantly, no one else can say this either. No one owns a crystal ball. If you agree that having hope is a good thing, then 2 statements are now true. First, it is impossible to disprove that the future will be bright. And second, that it is beneficial to believe in the promise of a better tomorrow. If this is the case, why not believe? Humans are uniquely capable of faith, so why wouldn't you exercise that right?

This is the premise of the Malleable Man.

Like his name suggests, the Malleable Man is pliable and adaptive. If he decides the World is best served by him believing in a particular God or set of spiritual beliefs, then he decides to believe in that God and those beliefs. Importantly, the Malleable Man's faith is utterly sincere. Upon choosing to engage in belief, every fiber of his being becomes dedicated to upholding that view. Just as one may hone their physical form, the Malleable Man chooses to also exercise his meta-physical body. He knows neither him nor anyone else is capable of disproving his chosen beliefs, and so he flexes this ability towards his own ends.

Gold is commonly cited as an example of a malleable material.

Critics will contend that this conception of faith is callously self-serving, and a far cry from genuine religious conviction. But the Malleable Man merely shrugs off these critiques as the desperate arguments of the unenlightened. The only difference the Malleable Man sees between himself and the pious faithful of organized religions is that the Malleable Man deliberately picks the God he worships.

Understand that his convictions are liable to change on a dime. Variations to his environment, values, or experiences have the potential to alter the Malleable Man's ideal; and he then updates his beliefs to reflect this influence.

Imagine that one day he comes to the conclusion that ego is the single ugliest personality trait one can hold. He concludes that he would like to exorcise any vestige of egotistical thinking from himself; and so, the Malleable Man chooses to simultaneously believe two things. When good tidings bless him, he believes these events to be predetermined by a higher power. But when bad tidings befall him, he believes these to be the result of his own failings. Thus, every positive experience is attributable to God's beneficience and every negative experience is the fault of the Malleable Man.

Under this system there is no room for conceit, and the Malleable Man moves himself closer to the egoless ideal.

Faith is a powerful motivator. Humanity's long history of religious based violence is a glaring reminder to this effect. This is somewhat understandable, if you hold sincere belief your actions are justified by a higher power; then who may resist the allure of a holy war? But it should be emphasized that you will be risking your life for a set of beliefs with no testable basis in reality. The Malleable Man merely reasons that if he is to be afflicted with the curse of faith, he may as well bend it to his own ends.

With this rationale in hand, the Malleable Man takes it one step further. He also has faith in a number of functionally non-falsifiable statements. He defines a functionally non-falsifiable statement as a statement which is technically falsifiable, but one he will never realistically attempt to disprove.

Imagine the Malleable Man is driving somewhere when another driver aggressively cuts him off. Instead of letting this experience anger him, the Malleable Man chooses to believe the aggressive driver is desperately rushing to the imminent birth of their first-born child in some far-away hospital.

This is a falsifiable statement. The driver either is actively driving to their pregnant partner, or they aren't. But the Malleable Man knows that he will never get the opportunity to find out.³ The Malleable Man also knows that feeling rage in this moment will serve him no purpose, and would only endanger and exhaust him. Following this logic, he faithfully engages in the gracious scenario of childbirth; wholly unconcerned with its veracity.

And this is how he exists, a walking collection of sifting beliefs curated to best serve himself. The Malleable Man knows he is naturally burdened with faith, and he recognizes faith for the potent force it is. Rather than run from this fact, the Malleable Man relishes in it. He imbues his life and actions with a holy purpose because he knows he is able to.

It is not easy to live as the Malleable Man. It is extremely difficult to go through the exercise of selecting beliefs and then wholeheartedly placing faith in them. It is even harder to hold conflicting beliefs simultaneously. My point is merely that if it is impossible to disprove something, and we know believing in that would be beneficial, then why wouldn't we just believe?

I cannot prove or disprove that anybody is truly capable of living as the Malleable Man, but I can still believe it with my entire heart.⁴

Thanks to John Murcko for reading drafts.

Arya Kaul (C) now - forever -> more essays