Wishes and whims are not facts nor are they a means to discover them. It is the foundation from which life is embraced. The first law of reason is this: what exists, exists what is, is and from this irreducible bedrock principle, all knowledge is built. ” ― Faith of the Fallen: Chapter 41, pages 459-460 (paperback) “ The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason. In both the book and the show, Zedd instructs Richard on this rule. Instead of allowing biases to twist one's brief, one must try and escape the effect of the biases and determine the actual truth of a situation. Similarly, when someone fears something may or may not be true, such as that one is not competent enough to fill one's job responsibilities, then he may actually believe that such is true. When someone hopes something may or may not be true, such as that a friend did not betray him, then he may actually believe in a lie told to him by another, or told to himself, that the friend did not betray him, when in actuality the friend did. Two of the most powerful biases are hope (or, described differently, optimistic belief that something may be true) and fear.
Such biases twist the mind into believing some things are true, when they are not. The mind is ruled by psychological biases. “ People will believe a lie because they want it to be true or because they're afraid it might be true. hardcover editions unless otherwise stated. In the sections below which explain them in more detail, all pages given are from the U.S. * There have always been those who hate, and there always will be.Embrace life, Strength without hate.( Confessor).