Let’s examine the following experiment, which demonstrates how beliefs shape our actions.
In this experiment, researchers placed five monkeys in a cage with a ladder leading to a bunch of bananas at the top. When one monkey attempted to climb the ladder to reach the bananas, the researchers sprayed the other monkeys with cold water. To avoid getting wet, the monkeys collectively decided to prevent any monkey from climbing the ladder by attacking it.
Over time, it became unnecessary to spray the monkeys with water because they had learned that "if one monkey climbs the ladder, the others will face a cold shower."
Eventually, one monkey was replaced, and its first instinct was to climb the ladder. The remaining monkeys immediately attacked it. After several beatings, the new monkey learned not to attempt the climb.
Another monkey was then replaced, and the same sequence of events occurred. The first substitute monkey actively participated in beating the second substitute monkey, and this continued until all the original monkeys were replaced.
In the end, all five monkeys in the cage had never experienced a cold-water shower, yet they still attacked any monkey that tried to climb the ladder.
Why did the monkeys continue to behave this way?
According to epistemology (the study of knowledge), this illustrates a paradigm—a set of beliefs that shapes how we perceive and understand reality. How often do we behave a certain way simply because we have been taught that it should be so? Rather than questioning why things are the way they are, we often fail to explore their origins and learn from them.
