Rationality as the Savior of Thought Posted on 05/23/2010
Rationality is a system of thinking that disallows bad logic
to interfere with
good decision making in one's personal life. Logic commonly drills down to
syllogisms. For example, doing things efficiently benefits me; organizing stuff
on shelves by some kind of category that means something to me allows me to
efficiently find what I'm looking for; therefore, organizing my stuff benefits
me.
Development here
The Nature of Belief
Posted on 01/09/2012
The near-future is unknowable, yet most of us believe
that human life will continue. The past occurred and the present is now, so we
have a basis for believing that life will continue on a predictable course. This
belief of continuing humanity seems sound and reasonable.
And if we can’t know the future, yet maintain our
belief in what it will look like based on general experience, aren’t there other
things that science hasn’t disproved in which we may legitimately believe?
How do people figure out what is probably true from
what is probably false? Why can two people, looking at the same information,
conclude two different realities? Surely, one of the conclusions is wrong, or is
a little wrong. But which one? Whose conclusion do we choose to believe, and
why? Our uncertainty is palpable in such situations.
When confronted with such dilemmas of what to
believe, some people research to find answers, while others resort to intuition
and fantasy about what could be true. Why do some believe without
evidence? What prompts anti-intellectualism?
Many of us want to believe that life can be magical,
mystical, full of fantastic yet unknown mysteries that will fascinate and excite
us without end, fuel our imaginations about the wide possibilities open to us,
about our connection to everything, everyone, and everything and everyone past
and future. We try to resist the pull of mystical possibilities and we try to
maintain our astonishment in the natural miracles all around us.
But we’re not quite as satisfied when we know the
answers, when nature’s mysteries have been solved. We like mystery, so we still
hang on to our belief in heaven, for instance, which comforts billions of people
who want to extend their mortality.
We want to believe that we fit into a bigger plan,
that our mundane lives have a bigger purpose, that we’re not alone, and that
others share our vision and aspirations.
We believe because we want to think that people are
good, truthful, and have no ulterior motive for providing information and
kindness. Goodness in the world and in others makes us want to live.
We want to believe that there is justice in the
world, even if this justice is not assured by a divine decider, some
undefeatable power pulling the strings. Though the world is neither fair nor
unfair, we refuse to accept that only people commit fair and unfair acts.
We want to believe that we’re so in tune with our soul mates and close relatives that we can telepathically read their minds, feel what they feel, know their every desire at any moment, and be able to predict their needs and provide for them before those needs are spoken. This is how we show our love, care, empathy, our connection, and our willingness to serve others whose full understanding of their significance in our lives we demand. This connection with others makes us feel grounded.
We want to believe. That is the nature of living.
The list of unreal things that people believe in isn't endless, and neither are their reasons for believing in them.
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