Ethical dilemma: Who should you believe? - Alex Worsnip

Translator: aditya prayogi Reviewer: Maria Nainggolan

You’re sitting on the couch watching TV, when you hear a knock on the door.

Saat tengah asyik nonton TV di sofa, mendadak kau mendengar ketukan pintu.

The police have just arrived to arrest your spouse— for murder.

Polisi baru saja tiba menangkap pasanganmu—atas tuduhan pembunuhan.

This accusation comes as a total shock.

Tuduhan yang dilayangkan sontak mengejutkan.

In your experience, your partner has always been gentle and loving,

Pasanganmu yang sehari-harinya bersikap lembut dan penyayang,

and you can't imagine them committing a grisly murder.

melakukan pembunuhan keji yang tak pernah terbayangkan.

But the evidence is serious:

Tapi buktinya cukup serius:

their fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.

sidik jari pasanganmu membekas pada barang bukti.

Your spouse insists they're innocent.

Ia bersikeras mengatakan tak bersalah.

“I know it looks bad,” they say, “but you have to believe me!

“Aku tahu ini buruk,” katanya, “tapi, kau mesti percaya padaku!

If you don’t, who will?”

Jika bukan padamu, siapa lagi?”

Should you believe your spouse,

Haruskah kau percaya pada pasanganmu,

even though the evidence against them looks damning?

meskipun terdapat bukti pembunuh yang sangat jelas?

Take a second to think what you would believe in this situation.

Coba berpikir sejenak apa yang mesti kau yakini dalam situasi ini.

This dilemma is part of what philosophers call the ethics of belief:

Dilema ini adalah bagian dari apa yang disebut filsuf sebagai etis kepercayaan:

a field of study that explores how we ought to form beliefs,

studi menjelaskan bagaimana kita bisa membentuk kepercayaan,

and whether we have ethical duties to believe certain things.

dan memiliki kewajiban etis untuk meyakini hal-hal tertentu.

The question here isn't about what you should do,

Pertanyaan di sini bukan apa yang mesti kau lakukan,

such as whether or not you should find your spouse guilty in a court of law.

seperti apakah kau harus turut menindak-lanjutinya.

After all, you wouldn’t be on the jury in their trial!

Lagipula, kau pasti takkan menjadi juri dalam persidangan mereka!

Rather, it’s about what you should believe to be true.

Sebaliknya, ini soal apa yang mesti kau yakini sebagai suatu kebenaran.

So, what factors should you consider?

Jadi, faktor apa yang mesti dipertimbangankan?

Perhaps the most obvious is your evidence.

Bisa jadi bukti yang sangat jelas ada pada dirimu.

After all, to believe something is to take it to be true.

Intinya, mempercayai sesuatu berarti menganggapnya benar.

And evidence is, by definition,

Bukti adalah, secara definisi,

all information that helps us determine what's true.

segala informasi yang membantu kita menentukan kebenaran.

From this, some philosophers draw the conclusion that evidence

Beberapa filsuf berkesimpulan bahwa bukti

is the only thing that ought to determine what you believe.

adalah satu-satunya hal yang bisa kau yakini

This view is called evidentialism, and a strict evidentialist would say

Pandangan ini disebut pembuktian, dan sang ahli akan mengatakan

it doesn’t matter that the accused is your spouse.

sekalipun terdakwa adalah pasanganmu.

You should evaluate the evidence from a neutral, objective point of view.

Kau mesti menaksir bukti dari sudut pandang netral dan objektif.

Taking the perspective of an unbiased third party,

Mengambil sudut pandang pihak ketiga tanpa memihak,

your judgment of your spouse's character is a relevant consideration.

Penilaian soal karakter pasanganmu memang pertimbangan yang relevan.

But finding their fingerprints at the crime scene

Tapi bila sidik jarinya ditemukan di TKP

is surely stronger evidence.

maka itu adalah bukti yang sangat kuat.

So, from an evidentialist point of view,

Jadi, menurut pandangan ahli bukti,

you should either believe your spouse is guilty,

kau mesti yakin pasanganmu bersalah,

or at best remain undecided.

atau sebaiknya diam.

Some philosophers present evidentialism only as a view

Beberapa filsuf menyajikan pembuktian hanya sebagai pandangan

of what’s most rational to believe.

tentang apa yang paling rasional untuk diyakini.

But others, like 19th century evidentialist W.K. Clifford,

Tapi beberapa, pada abad ke-19 seorang ahli bernama W.K. Clifford,

think that following the evidence is also morally required.

berpikir bahwa penyelidikan terhadap bukti juga dibutuhkan dari segi moral.

One argument for this view is that having well-informed, accurate beliefs

Kelemahan pandangan ini adalah adanya keakuratan dan kejelasan informasi

is often vitally important to determining the ethical way to act.

yang seringkali jadi acuan penting untuk menentukan cara etis dalam bertindak

Another argument is that there’s something unethical about being dishonest,

Kelemahan lain adalah ditemukan ketidak- etisan apabila pelaku berusaha bohong,

and refusing to follow the evidence is a way of being dishonest with oneself.

dan membantah bukti.

However, perhaps there are other ethical factors in play.

Tapi, bisa saja masih ada faktor etis lain yang ikut berperan.

Although the evidence against your spouse is strong,

Meskipun bukti sudah cukup kuat

there’s still a chance that they’re actually innocent.

masih ada cara untuk membuktikan pasanganmu sebetulnya tidak bersalah.

Think for a moment about how it would feel to be innocent,

Bayangkan sejenak rasanya menjadi seorang tertuduh,

and have no one believe you— not even your own partner!

tanpa seorangpun yang percaya bahkan pasanganmu!

By not trusting your spouse,

Dengan tidak mempercayai pasanganmu,

you run the risk of seriously hurting them in their crucial hour of need.

Sama saja sangat melukai perasaannya di saat mereka butuh.

Moreover, consider what this lack of trust would do to your marriage.

Terlebih, pertimbangan dampak pernikahanmu bila kurangnya kepercayaan.

It would be incredibly difficult to continue a loving relationship

Pasti sulit rasanya untuk melanjut bahtera

with someone that you believed— or even strongly suspected—

bersama seseorang yang kau percaya— atau memang betul—

was a murderer.

tersangka pembunuhan.

You might try to pretend to believe that your spouse is innocent,

Kau bisa saja berpura-pura percaya pada pasanganmu,

but could you really go on living that lie?

tapi bisakah kau menjalani kehidupan dalam kebohongan?

According to a theory of the ethics of belief called pragmatism,

Berdasarkan teori etis kepercayaan yang disebut pragmatisme,

these kinds of practical considerations can sometimes make it right

Pertimbangan-pertimbangan praktis semacam ini bisa saja benar

to believe something even without strong evidence.

tetap mempercayai sesuatu meskipun sudah ada bukti kuat.

Some pragmatists would even say that you morally owe it to your spouse

Beberapa ahli pragmatis akan menganggapmu punya hutang secara moral pada pasanganmu

to believe them.

untuk percaya padanya.

But is it even possible to believe your spouse is innocent

Tapi apakah kau betul-betul percaya pada pasanganmu

just because you think it’ll be good for your relationship?

hanya karena kau pikir hal itu akan baik bagi hubungan kalian?

Or because you think you owe it to the accused?

Atau karena kau merasa berhutang pada tersangka?

You might desperately want to believe they’re innocent,

Kau justru mati-matian percaya padanya,

but can you control your beliefs in the same way you control your actions?

Tapi bisakah kau mengontrol rasa percaya sama besarnya mengontrol tindakanmu?

It seems like you can’t just believe whatever you like

Tampaknya, kau tak bisa sekedar percaya

when the truth is staring you in the face.

bila kebenaran terpampang di depan mata.

But on the other hand, recall your spouse’s plea.

Tapi di sisi lain, kau mendengar permohonan pasanganmu.

When we say things like this,

Ketika kita membahas hal semacam ini,

we seem to be assuming that it is possible to control our beliefs in some way.

kita akan berasumsi barangkali kita bisa mengontrol kepercayaan entah bagaimana.

So what do you think? Can you control what beliefs you have?

Jadi, gimana menurutmu? Bisakah kau mengontrol kepercayaanmu?

And if so, what will you believe about your spouse?

Bila benar, apa yang akan kau percaya pada pasanganmu?