Disbelief In Theatre

In theatre, audiences are expected to witness plays with full enjoyment; they should not watch to argue about what is true and what is merely fiction. In other words, they are required to “suspend disbelief” and “accept fiction as reality so as to experience a catharsis, or a releasing of tensions to purify the soul” (Safire). For this reason, the “suspension of disbelief” is an essential feature in theatre. Furthermore, this feature is essential in other areas of knowledge as well. However, it is irrelevant in the case of accepting fiction as real; rather, the “suspension of disbelief” correlates with accepting knowledge from other perspectives, especially those that oppose what the knower believes to be fact. Knowledge comes from the exchange

For centuries, people have relied on superstitions and myths to explain how the world works. However, many have sought out a more logical explanation through experimentation and discovery. In the case of those learning about the natural sciences, it is important that they put aside their biases toward supernatural causes to learn of more logical explanations. One reason is that supernatural causes of natural occurrences are often determined without experimentation by human beings; they are mainly stories revolved around assumptions. Nonetheless, those who do not experiment and challenge theories assume that these manmade theories must be valid. However, experimentation allows human beings to manipulate their environment in order to make discoveries of natural causes and effects. When people hear of solutions to problems through experimentation rather than theories, they are more inclined to abandon their bias toward theory and construct conclusions through experimentation. In the case of natural sciences, the suspension of disbelief allows learners to hear a more logical explanation of the world around them and how it works because reasons taken from experimentation provide clear evidence while what myths, which is what people originally believed, are based solely on assumptions and superstitions. For knowledge seekers, suspending disbelief encourages curiosity which leads to a better understanding of the