Originally posted by apathistWe are creatures of faith. I once nearly fell into a hole in the ground that was covered over
Do we use volition to determine our beliefs?
Worrying at the question, I came across this:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/
and now I have a headache.
in tundra while hiking in Alaska. The ground looked solid, I take steps on it all the time
walking in faith that it is hard and will support me. We go out to our cars believing they will
start, but they don't always, we take the words of people we trust or believe in. We live our
lives making he best choices we can on all topics where the unknown is there. If it is right
by you estimation you may go down a good path or a bad one, but odds are you will go
down one.
Originally posted by apathistI would say 'it depends'.
Do we use volition to determine our beliefs?
I think that when we lack sufficient evidence to decide either way, we can choose to believe something (or at least act like we believe it) but often retain the knowledge that we could be wrong.
I think that in many cases we can choose to want to believe something and then over time force ourselves into believing it.
There are a number of examples of case where we might believe something because the alternative seems undesirable so we simply refuse to think about the possibility of the alternative. For example you may have reason to think your spouse is cheating on you but refuse to even consider it.
I have also often heard theists say something along the lines of 'I could not believe in a God that would (insert bad deed) '.
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Originally posted by apathistBelief is required for things you can't prove.
Do we use volition to determine our beliefs?
Worrying at the question, I came across this:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/
and now I have a headache.
Then there are things you think are facts but later learn are not facts at all.
Belief is the glue that helps you make sense of the world around you. Without it, facts would be meaningless, assuming you can even prove their veracity.
In short, you could not function without belief, so you must create something to believe in to make sense of the world around you. In this regard, it is not a choice, but what is a choice is the type of belief you have..
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Originally posted by Great King RatThe fact that you say you function just fine is a belief.
I have no "belief" and I function just fine.
You have assigned value to your present perceived state of being and said it is "fine" the way it is..
For all you know you could drop dead today and/or your life has been a complete waste of time up till now.
Originally posted by whodeyWe seem to have a different idea concerning to meaning of the word "belief".
The fact that you say you function just fine is a belief.
You have assigned value to your present perceived state of being and said it is "fine" the way it is..
For all you know you could drop dead today and/or your life has been a complete waste of time up till now.
Why do you say my life has been a waste of time? What time has been wasted?