While this idea may seem outlandish—after all, it seems easy to decide not to believe in God—evidence from several disciplines indicates that what you actually believe is not a decision you make for yourself. Your fundamental beliefs are decided by much deeper levels of consciousness, and some may well be more or less set in stone.We're born that way, say cognitive scientists. We're wired that way from birth. Or perhaps wired from before birth.
Full and interesting article here.
EDIT: Incorrect link repaired @11:24 AM.
20 comments:
This is obvious to anyone looking at how people behave. Atheists are just people who substituted something else to replace a traditional notion of God.
You don't have to have faith to be put off by the assertion that there is no mind behind the universe, that it's all accidental. Yes, and if enough monkeys were placed at enough keyboards and typed away for enough time -- voila, the complete works of Shakespeare.
National Organization for Atheists immediately cast doubt on the findings ;-)
"Your fundamental beliefs are decided by much deeper levels of consciousness, and some may well be more or less set in stone."
Maybe, maybe not. Warriors accept the responsibility for what they believe.
So you're a warrior, are you?
The conclusion I draw from this is that phx is just a figment of my imagination.
I think they just looked in foxholes.
I don't know if I'm a warrior or not but I do accept the responsibility for what I believe.
I don't know if I'm a warrior or not but I do accept the responsibility for what I believe.
Do you conclude that others don't accept the responsibility for what they believe? Why do you think that?
Oh, I don't know anything about what you or anyone else believes or accepts responsibility for.
The post however seems to indicate that the writer believe scientists have discovered we've been wired to believe what we believe from birth - perhaps before.
I don't know if that's true or not but it's not something I would ever subscribe to.
"Cain't hep it. I wuz born that way."
Never for me. I choose my beliefs. At least I choose to believe I choose my beliefs!
I looked at my options and chose my beliefs. I'm responsible for them, whether they are correct or incorrect. I take the full blame and credit such as it is.
I take the full blame and credit such as it is.
From where does a concept of blame and credit arise?
I think "blame and credit" are ways of expressing, in a very simple way, "accept the responsibility for." Nothing more than that.
Where does a sense of responsibility spring from?
Responsibility to what?
In my view it's not "responsibility to" it's "responsibility for."
I'm responsible for myself, for all my actions and for all my beliefs. I'm responsible for my life and for my death.
If I'm responsible to anyone it's because I chose to be responsible to them.
Nobody is responsible for me.
I don't know where anyone else's sense of responsibility comes from.
Religious belief has purpose. Religious belief served as the foundation on which our intellectual systems are based.
It is odd, this liberal belief that the past is always a stupid mistake that needs to be thrown away.
responsible (adj.)
1590s, "answerable" (to another, for something), from obsolete French responsible (13c., Modern French responsable, as if from Latin *responsabilis), from Latin respons-, past participle stem of respondere "to respond" (see respond). Meaning "accountable for one's actions" is attested from 1640s; that of "reliable, trustworthy" is from 1690s. Retains the sense of "obligation" in the Latin root word.
I'm not clear as to where the concept of being responsible (to or for) comes from in animals that are solely looking out for themselves and their own survival.
I'm not clear as to where the concept of being responsible (to or for) comes from in animals that are solely looking out for themselves and their own survival.
I don't speak for "animals that are solely looking out for themselves and their own survival". But speaking for myself my sense of responsibility (not my "concept of responsibility") comes from my self. I freely accept it and make it a building block of my life.
Those other animals are responsible for themselves, imo.
The post however seems to indicate that the writer believe scientists have discovered we've been wired to believe what we believe from birth - perhaps before
No. I think the study says that humans are hard wired (if you will) to believe in something. Not specific what. Just something. It could be a thing as innocuous and kindly as trees have spirits and animals have spirits that need to be treated with respect when cut down or killed for food. (A very common animistic type of religion in hunter gathers) to something as horrific as cutting the hearts out of living humans to appease the sun God.
They are saying that even atheists, who profess to not believe in God, as in the old white haired guy with a beard sitting on a throne in the clouds, still believe in some sort of something.
This tendency to want to believe in something outside of ourselves is innate in the human mind. What form it takes and to what strength it manifests is another thing altogether. When people are not given something structured to believe, they tend to make up their own beliefs and become quite passionate about them. This is typical of many who believe in modern secular 'religious' ideas and who cannot be persuaded by facts or logic. Gaia worship. Global warmists who call everyone who doesn't believe heretics (don't bother arguing because you aren't going to change my mind and you don't know what I think anyway), Eco freaks, Jim Jones followers, Hale Bopp Comet..... and all sorts of other strong beliefs.
The thing is people believe in "something" and tend to organize themselves and others around those beliefs.
Just had a thought....perhaps schizophrenics who often have very strong and very strange beliefs and uncontrollable urges to act on those beliefs, have an extra dose of whatever hard wires us to believe in God or the Great Pumpkin.
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