Belief: 1. The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in a person or thing; faith. 2. Mental acceptance or conviction in the truth or actuality of something. 3. Something believed or accepted as true; especially, a particular tenet, or a body of tenets, accepted by a group of persons.
The American Heritage Dictionary
We watched a new show last night. It is called Silk, it is an English production about lawyers. The main character’s whole basis to working for her client is that in Law everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Now in real life I am thinking that finding real truth is getting to be difficult and so I am wondering just how effective the legal system is…not to mention how difficult it is to get along on a daily basis with others.
We seem to be up against many levers that help to undermine our reasoning…
The Popular belief – everybody believes it so it must be true…I saw this being used on a commercial for a tv show…over 42 million viewers…and with that many people watching the show it must be good!The informed belief – information is spread by someone and because they say it it must be true. This goes along with the popular belief for in order for others to believe something they have to be told by someone. could also be called gossip.I have heard the same thing many times so it must be true Belief -Also is part of the Popular belief. Advertisers know repetition sells and more and more it is being used to steer society towards changing or acquiring a new belief…socialism is bad, we must invade because they have weapons of mass destruction. Propaganda is another word.It was true before so it must be true – past events are used to validate a belief or predict what will happen in the future.My people believe this – When you are accepted by a group or a family or a social class you assume the beliefs…it helps to fit in and it helps to be a part of the group. Social acceptance is what makes teenagers do such stupid things not to mention is the driving force of suicide bombers.Expert belief – different from just being informed…an expert could be the foundation for the belief that is then spread by others who inform. The trouble with this is every expert has a bias or a belief that can be….wrong!learned belief – where we grow up assuming the beliefs of others…be it religion, racism, a love of gardening.
With the world going to hell in a handcart these days I am thinking that it is a very perilous time for many beliefs that so many held to be true are playing out to not be true, Capitalism is not the key to happiness for the masses, Democracy is not without its faults, Religion does not bring more love and tolerance, Corporations are not filling the void of governments, Myomed cream does not relieve muscle pain, families do not always love or like each other…and when this happens all the deflated people out there who are angry, hurting, frustrated will be looking for a new belief system and if things play out like they have in the past I am beginning to believe that really bad things could happen…French/Russian/Chinese Revolutions, World Wars, Rise of Demi Gods nutto leaders, Holocausts, Ethnic Cleansing, family disenfranchisement.
Maybe there is hope for the world…to start teaching people how to reason, to help them learn how to discover things for themselves instead of listening to the bias of others and to help them discern when their own beliefs could be false.
“believe nothing,
no matter where you read itor who has said it,not even if I have said it,unless it agrees with your own reasonand your own common sense.”Buddha
