Skepticism and the Pursuit of Truth

 

Those who pay close attention to the media and the news may recognize how easily factual information can be accompanied by persuasion, selective presentation, or misleading interpretations. The same principle applies to information encountered in virtually any setting. The existence of an established industry, the publication of a claim in a college textbook, or the endorsement of an idea by an authority can make information appear more trustworthy than it has actually been demonstrated to be. Current knowledge may contain errors, incomplete explanations, or overlooked evidence, because human beings are responsible for producing, interpreting, and communicating knowledge. Even science, despite its methods of testing and verification, is not immune to human error. For this reason, blindly accepting information can prevent us from recognizing mistakes and can cause us to repeat the assumptions of those who came before us.

 

Skepticism therefore serves an important intellectual purpose. To be skeptical does not necessarily mean rejecting a claim; rather, it means withholding complete confidence until there is sufficient reason to accept it. When we encounter a claim, we should ask what evidence supports it, how that evidence was obtained, whether it has been independently verified, and whether alternative explanations have been adequately considered. For example, if a news report announces that scientists have discovered a new element, it may be reasonable to regard the claim as provisionally credible if it comes from a reliable source, but it should not be confused with personally verified knowledge. Our initial understanding of the discovery comes through testimony—the report of people who conducted or observed the research. Unless we have independently examined the evidence ourselves, our acceptance of the claim remains dependent upon the reliability of that testimony.

 

This distinction is important because information can be encountered at different levels of certainty. A statement may be presented as established knowledge while the individual receiving it has only a belief that the statement is true. Recognizing this distinction does not require us to reject everything we cannot personally verify. In many areas of life, direct personal verification is impractical or impossible. Instead, skepticism encourages us to consider the quality of the evidence and the reliability of the sources before deciding how much confidence a claim deserves. The goal is not to demand absolute certainty from every statement, but to ensure that the degree of our confidence corresponds to the strength of the available evidence.

 

The practice of skepticism has a long intellectual history. In the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, the mathematician and philosopher Ibn al-Haytham emphasized the importance of critically examining what one encounters in the pursuit of truth. His approach encouraged the investigator to challenge information rather than simply accept it because it had already been written or taught. This spirit of inquiry is also associated with the Socratic method, in which questioning is used to examine assumptions, clarify definitions, expose contradictions, and determine whether a claim is adequately supported. Both approaches demonstrate an important principle: questioning knowledge is not necessarily an obstacle to discovering truth; it can be one of the means by which truth is more carefully pursued.

 

Consider, for example, a claim that every piece of evidence collected over the past century has supported the theory of evolution. Rather than accepting such a sweeping statement simply because it was presented by an academic or professional, a skeptical thinker would ask what evidence has actually been examined and whether the claim is stated too broadly. The appropriate response would not be to assume that any unusual observation automatically disproves evolution. Instead, the observation should be investigated carefully, its evidence evaluated, and its relationship to existing evolutionary explanations determined. If an observation appears to conflict with an established explanation, scientists should examine whether the observation is accurate, whether the interpretation is justified, and whether the existing explanation needs to be modified or reconsidered.

 

The same principle applies to information presented by journalists, professors, scientists, historians, governments, and other authorities. Expertise can provide valuable reasons for trusting a source, but expertise does not make a person infallible. Authority should therefore be treated as evidence of credibility rather than as an automatic guarantee of truth. The stronger the claim, the more important it becomes to examine the evidence supporting it. By asking questions, seeking independent verification, considering alternative explanations, and distinguishing between what is established and what remains uncertain, we can make more informed judgments about the information we encounter.

 

The pursuit of truth requires more than collecting information. It requires examining the information we receive and being willing to revise our conclusions when better evidence becomes available. Skepticism, properly understood, is not a rejection of knowledge but a safeguard against unjustified certainty. By making careful inquiry a habit, we can reduce the likelihood of being misled, recognize the limits of what we currently know, and move closer to the truth.

 

“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” -Albert Einstein

© 2026 Hazon, Nir

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The Practice of Compassion

 

My study and practice of Eastern psychology began when I was 17 years old. During that time and throughout the several years that followed, I actively incorporated many of the teachings of Buddhist wisdom into my life. Through continued practice, many of these teachings eventually became second nature to me. I no longer have to consciously remind myself to apply them because they have become habitual responses to the events of life. One of the teachings that has had the greatest impact on me is the teaching of compassion. Through my many experiences practicing compassion, I have come to place great value on it as an effective method of emotional self-healing. The practice of compassion has helped guide me through some of the most difficult periods of my life and has provided me with a way to respond to suffering with greater understanding rather than allowing suffering to control my state of mind.

 

For a period of approximately eight years beginning when I was 18 years old, I endured circumstances that involved significant hardship and injustice. I attribute much of my ability to endure these experiences to my practice of Buddhist wisdom. During these difficult periods, the teaching of compassion became particularly important because it gave me a way to respond to my suffering internally. While compassion could not remove the circumstances I was experiencing, it could change the way I related to those circumstances. Instead of adding further suffering to an already difficult situation through harshness toward myself, I could deliberately respond to myself with understanding and compassion.

 

The most important practice of the teaching of compassion is self-compassion. To practice self-compassion, we take a moment to acknowledge ourselves, recognize what we are experiencing, and deliberately choose to respond to ourselves with compassion. Rather than criticizing ourselves for struggling, we recognize that suffering is part of the human experience and allow ourselves to be treated by our own minds with the same understanding that we would offer another person who was going through a difficult time. This practice can help alleviate emotional suffering, clear the mind, and improve our emotional state. The more frequently we practice self-compassion, the more naturally it can become our response to life's unfortunate circumstances.

 

The second important practice of the teaching of compassion is having compassion for others. When we deliberately practice compassion toward other people, we cultivate the mental state associated with compassion, which can also strengthen our ability to practice compassion toward ourselves. Compassion for others can also broaden our understanding of suffering by reminding us that hardship is not an experience unique to ourselves. Every person encounters difficulties, disappointments, and forms of suffering throughout life. Recognizing this commonality can help us develop greater understanding toward both ourselves and others. In this way, practicing compassion for others can reinforce the practice of self-compassion and contribute to our own emotional well-being.

 

Many people may not realize that compassion can be deliberately practiced as a way of responding to suffering. We often think of our emotional responses as things that simply happen to us, but practices such as compassion can give us a greater degree of influence over how we respond to difficult experiences. By learning to practice compassion toward ourselves and others, we can gradually develop a more compassionate habitual response to life's challenges. In my experience, this practice has been an important part of emotional self-healing and personal growth. When we learn that we can use our own minds to respond to suffering with compassion, we take an important step toward becoming wiser human beings who use the mind not only to understand life, but also to support our own well-being.

© 2026 Hazon, Nir

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The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

 

    The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for a number of decades. It is a topic of war, bloodshed, hate, and discrimination. All those who are affected by this conflict, including those people who only read of this subject, may experience emotions of suffering as a result. The goals of this paper are to help the reader who may carry feelings concerning this subject alleviate their suffering and to educate on how I create peace with Palestinians. While there are many that may doubt that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians can take place, there are also many people, including myself, who believe that peace is achievable. I have seen this in my life on an individual basis and I have begun seeing it happen on the world stage with new movements for peace such as Realign for Palestine and The Abraham Accords.

    Peace between Israelis and Palestinians on an individual basis can be easily achieved with logical reasoning. If one realizes that both parties have no reason to hate one another when they do not think of themselves primarily as Israelis and Palestinians, then one can conclude that hatred in cases such as this is foolish behavior. This form of hatred is strictly based on the labels of nationality that one places upon others and neither party has a real reason to hate one another as they do not even know each other. What people need to know is that not every Palestinian wants war and not every Israeli agrees with new settlements in the West Bank. There are individuals, families, and groups of both sides who would enjoy peace, going to work, and living their lives. There are some who would argue that this conflict of war is over land. I would argue that, as we can see, the Israelis did not take that much land from the Arab world and that losing land or material possessions is not the end of the world. Life can continue from that point forward, and doing so is preferable to resorting to barbaric behavior such as violence and bloodshed. I, personally, have lived an unusually difficult life, and there was a time when I lost all of my material possessions. Rather than focusing my energy on seeking revenge, I continued living my life from that point forward. This is the preferable approach to living life as we continue taking steps towards prosperity instead of taking steps towards additional misery and sorrow. The continuation of this conflict of war is unnecessary.

    Peace between the Palestinians and Israelis on the world stage can be a permanent ceasefire and we can have that at any given time. This depends on the governing bodies of the Palestinians and Israelis. Until both governing bodies agree to a permanent ceasefire, we cannot enjoy peace on the world stage. We can, however, enjoy peace with one another on an individual basis. I, an Israeli-born man, have enjoyed making peace with Palestinians here in Los Angeles. When I encounter Palestinians here, I tell them nice things like “We come here to get away from the conflict” and “We come here to wash our sins away in the Pacific Ocean.” Peace on an individual basis is an easy process and many other Israelis and Palestinians as well as Jews and Muslims enjoy it here in the United States of America. My first best friend in America was a Muslim, in high school I played basketball with Palestinians and I even had a Palestinian best friend. One of my graduation photographs from college is myself doing a fist bump with a Palestinian graduate. I performed a rap presentation for my trigonometry class with a Palestinian beatboxer and posted the video on YouTube. One of my favorite memories is the time a Palestinian woman jumped me with a hug. As a known peace-maker between our peoples in the Los Angeles area, it was brought to my attention that there is an Israeli-Palestinian marriage that happened in Los Angeles.

    In the media of today it may be difficult to navigate through all of the hateful rhetoric when it comes to this subject. It seems that our understandings of the terms “Pro-Israel” and “Pro-Palestinian” are ones of strictly supporting one of the sides with the opposition to the other when we can be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine. From an American perspective, as our political objectives are to create peace between Israelis and Palestinians, we should seek to be both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. What this means is not being anti either side and wishing for a safe lifestyle for both peoples.

    I have studied the teachings of Christianity in order to enhance my networking skills as I live in a Christian majority nation and I have discovered a useful teaching. Christianity teaches it's followers to forgive their enemies. While it may appear in some cases that forgiveness is outright stupid, in many other cases it is not and could serve the purpose of cleansing our own minds of negative emotions. This is why, whenever it is possible to do so, we should forgive our enemies. We can find ways to forgive our enemies in order to cleanse our minds. For example, we can forgive our enemies on the basis that they may have received poor education and that they may be under pressure from others to oppose us. Teachings such as this as well as ones that are included in Buddhist wisdom can help us alleviate our suffering.

    In recent times, there have been campaigns of misinformation that have been targeting those who support Israel. These campaigns of misinformation teach lies such as “Israel is a European colonial project” and “All Jews are white.” I am personally offended by the latter, which has arisen numerous times in conversations that I have been around, as I am a man of brown skin tone of 100% Yemeni Jewish descent. It is also worthy to note that Israel is not a European colonial project and is a direct result of the unfortunate genocide of the Jewish people known as The Holocaust. These campaigns of misinformation bring about chaos in the world and we must shun their voices as their objectives are not ones of mutual benefit to both peoples of this conflict. Adolf Hitler taught that if you tell a lie enough times then others will believe it. This is why it is important for these voices to be shunned. There are also people on both sides who may post on social media or say things that are based on emotional feelings instead of rational thinking when it comes to this subject and offend other people as a result. With the proper education, we can minimize this problem as well as solve many others. It can be viewed from the perspective that the Palestinian people have the opportunity to be the group of people in the world who granted peace upon the Jews.

    The truth is that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is achievable. The statement that it is achievable is true. I also know from personal experience that our peoples are compatible with one another. Whether the governing bodies of both peoples reach an agreement for a permanent ceasefire cannot be controlled by the ordinary person, however, we can enjoy peace-making on an individual level. By seeing the truth of the individuality of people, we can eliminate the hatred that we may foolishly hold for an entire group of people. Efforts toward progress in the peace-making process can bring about real change and hope, and even through the clouds of hateful rhetoric, we can see this happening right now.

© 2026 Hazon, Nir

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The Concept of Intellectual Humility

 

    The concept of intellectual humility does not mean that one actually needs to feel humiliated. It means being rational enough to desire learning the truth more than always being correct. Intellectual humility is a characteristic that defies foolishness. Being overconfident in one's expertise can lead to the mistake of overlooking the things that have not been considered. The claim of certainty can only be true for knowledge that is obtained by direct observation or is the only possibility. Our desire to learn the truth is more important and beneficial than any illogical stubbornness one may have. Intellectual humility may arise when we make mistakes, are misinformed, or are uninformed. We can learn the new information that has caused us intellectual humility and we can revise our knowledge thereafter. This is the wiser approach for the acquisition of knowledge as we obtain a clearer understanding of the truth as a result.

    When it comes to the acquisition of knowledge, there are many techniques that one can employ to evaluate the truth. We can find some detailed procedures on the evaluation of knowledge for it's truth in the study of epistemology. One of the most important and applicable teachings of philosophy is the teaching by Socrates to ask questions to assess the truth. Being wrong at times is acceptable, and we do not want foolishness to hinder us from making progress towards realizing the truth.

© 2026 Hazon, Nir

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The Introduction of Buddhist Wisdom

 

 

When introduced to the teachings of Buddhist wisdom, one may mistake the nature of this information for a belief system. This is why I begin the Scroll of Wisdom on my website with the Buddha’s teaching: “Do not listen to what anybody says, including me, if it does not agree with your own common sense.” Buddhist wisdom is not something that should simply be accepted because it was taught by the Buddha or by anyone else. Its teachings are meant to be examined, understood, and put into practice.

 

For example, upon learning the teaching, “If we just abandon hate, then we can enjoy being hate free,” one may wonder how they could actually become free from hatred or misunderstand what it means to apply this teaching. To practice it, one must begin by removing hatred whenever they become aware that they are experiencing it. This can begin with a conscious decision not to adopt or continue the emotion. It can also involve practices such as meditation, in which one observes the emotion without acting upon it and allows it to pass.

 

With enough practice, this process becomes easier. Eventually, it can become an instinctive response. Practicing the teachings of Buddhist wisdom is much like learning how to drive: at first, the process requires conscious attention, but with enough practice, it becomes second nature. The teachings can similarly become habitual ways of responding to the events of life. Through this practice, one can develop beneficial qualities of character and experience psychological and emotional benefits.

 

I would also like to point out that the reason the Buddha is sometimes depicted as laughing can be understood through the teaching, “If we just abandon hate, then we can enjoy being hate free.” Some explanations of Buddhist teachings describe people as being foolish because they are unaware of the nature of their own minds. From this perspective, becoming “enlightened” involves becoming aware of oneself and developing an understanding of Buddhist wisdom through both knowledge and practice.

 

Hatred is an unhealthy mental state that can be gradually released through practice. The laughter attributed to the Buddha can therefore be understood as arising from the realization that much of our suffering comes from not recognizing that the mind can be trained and transformed. What may initially seem impossible can become natural through practice. The mind is not necessarily fixed in the way it responds to life; through awareness and practice, its habitual responses can change.

 

© 2026 Hazon, Nir

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