(9 minute read)

Image by Freepik

Belief Systems

We are taught a belief system …about a virgin birth, that the universe is made up of three elephants on the backs of 12 turtles, we are the real live version of “The Sims” living in a computer simulation program, The Matrix, etc.

Quick, someone hit ctrl+alt+del and get us outta here!

Again, we aren’t born with these ideas or truths embedded into us. These are all ideas that we are introduced to and taught. Unfortunately, very few of us take pause to consider the origin or validity of these claims we hold very dear.

The Bad-News Bares All

A further explanation follows. We take for granted the information provided by authority figures. However, we also contribute to our belief systems. Unfortunately, those contributions are not very good. In the end, we might be better off not contributing at all.

When we are introduced to a belief system, we would like to think that we are objective. As an adult we believe we are searching and seeking for meaning. As a child, we usually don’t question what we are told.

As adults, in a kind of ass backwards way, we search for information that reinforces our beliefs. We do this rather than initially vetting them out to determine their truthfulness and validity. We seek information that confirms rather than scrutinize and that is not helpful.

In his book, The Believing Brain, Michael Shermer writes that “we form particular beliefs from subjective, personal and emotional promptings.” These beliefs develop in social and historical environments that influence their content.

Our beliefs do not originate from an unbiased perspective. We do not start from a blank slate waiting for truths to be written onto it. Instead, beliefs come from a point of influence that we hardly ever question. This includes our own subjective, emotional promptings.

“They” say it …so it must be “true”. We then spend our time looking for evidence. This evidence continues to reinforce and ultimately cement how and what we believe. (See the upcoming post Facts Over Feelings)

Despite what we may think, our default program is not a blank slate of objectivity. If we are unaware of that truth, we are prone to making mistakes.

The first Principle of Discovery is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.

–Richard Feynman, Cal Tech commencement speech, 1974

We must suspend feelings and early judgments. We need to intentionally use logic and reasoning. Otherwise, we only seek information that reinforces the belief rather than assessing it. We end up telling ourselves and others that “It must be true because it just feels right.”

In order to break the cycle, there needs to be a deliberate attempt at disrupting that automation. We achieve this by deliberately suspending feelings and judgments until as much information can be collected.

What’s The Point And Why Does It Matter?

We need to know where our beliefs started. This understanding is as important as knowing where they are taking us. In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorthy is told she needs to see the Wizard to get home. She needs to get to the Emerald City. To get there she simply needs to follow the Yellow Brick Road.

The actions in the scene are clear and deliberate. Dorthy intentionally places her foot on that very first brick. She does this to start her journey. Where and how we start matters just as much as where we want to wind up.

This process of reinforcing information from authority figures is used for a wide range of beliefs. These include the existence of ghosts, Big Foot, and UFOs. It also covers monotheism, polytheism, and flat earth conspiracies, and for Boomers, who really shot JR?

Our belief systems are not created in a vacuum. We are not as isolated, independent, and autonomous in creating our beliefs.

“As a belief engine the brain is always seeking to find meaning in the information that pours into it. Once it has constructed a belief, it rationalizes it with explanations, almost always after the event. The brain thus becomes invested in the beliefs, and reinforces them by looking for supporting evidence while blinding itself to anything contrary …this process determines our reality, not the other way around.”

–Michael Shermer, The Believing Brain, Times Books, 2011, emphasis mine

This matters because how, what, and why we believe also determines how we conduct our everyday lives. Belief in a god that doles out rewards and punishments will influence one’s behavior. It will lead them to treat others the same way in the here and now.

With that kind of mindset Aids becomes a just punishment.

In 1987, The Pew Research Center found that public opinion in America was divided on the question, “AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior.” About 43% agreed with the statement, 47% disagreed.

In 2007, that number dropped to only 27% of Americans believing that statement to be true with 72% disagreeing.

That is progress.

But there will always be a macabre meddlesome minority that hangs in there and insists on hideous outcomes. Natural disasters are deemed a just punishment for the wicked. However, a convicted murderer with a deathbed confession is rewarded with a blissful eternity.

It is inhuman to judge innocent people as deserving of punishment. Rewarding those who flaunt that same reward system is equally inhuman. How and what we believe determines how we will live our lives.

“But, being human means that we are ‘entitled’ to our own thoughts, ideas, opinions and beliefs!” you may say.

Well, actually, no. Not if those thoughts and ideas are wrong.

We often use the word “entitlement” as a synonym for “right.” That’s wrong. Rights imply a set of obligations. Entitlement does not imply having any obligation.

In his book, Crimes Against Logic, Jamie Whyte argues the difference between the two concepts. He explains how ambiguous the word entitlement can be.

How ambiguous? We say we love ice cream. We love our pets. We enjoy walking on the shore in the moonlight. We love our kids and loved ones. Can we say that the word “love” used in all these examples have the same weight in meaning? Can we hold the same deep feelings for inanimate objects like ice cream and moonlight to our loved ones?

Whyte argues that the word entitlement holds two meanings, political/legal or epistemological, depending on their context. Entitlement in the political/legal sense means we are entitled to any opinion we may have. It does not matter how groundless those opinions may be. In this sense, as sovereign individuals, we are entitled to hold any opinion we desire. We don’t need to prove it to be factual, despite being right or wrong.

On the other hand entitlement, in the epistemic sense, is related to truth or knowledge. In the epistemic sense, we are entitled to have or hold an opinion only when we have shown good reason. This means we must show “evidence or sound arguments” for holding them. In this sense, our “entitlement” is the kind that is earned. We have shown our work, like a mathematical problem.

Usually, when someone cops a right to their opinion, it happens at a particular point in an argument. At this stage, hearing the truth is no longer an option for them.

For example, if I am debating a friend about sensible gun legislation, we start by presenting our arguments. She thinks the second amendment is untouchable and I have other thoughts. Then, we lay out the details of our argument. At some point, my friend will run out of things to add to the argument. Then, they will shut the conversation down with, “I’m entitled to my opinion.”

This never happens on my side of the argument. This isn’t arrogance on my part. I am committed to airing out our differences and a quick indecisive ending is a personal disappointment.

That my friend is entitled to her opinion is true. However, the translation of the comment tells me something different. She is really saying, “I am no longer interested in the truth.” If she were she would still be interested in listening to and debating more reason.

If you say “I am entitled” to mean “I have a right,” then you need to understand something. The belief that you think and say that to mean now “you are to leave me alone” is a misconception. You are sorely mistaken if you think that ends the debate. In fact, you’ve ceded to me.

In Conclusion

Let me be so bold as to leave you with what I would leave my students. It’s not enough to know what you believe. Know what, how, and why you believe the things that you do. Know how and why your beliefs are there in the first place. If you cannot say convincingly to yourself why you know these truths are self-evident you’re only parroting a belief system. The onus is on you to convince others of these truths.

Like a parrot you can mimic the beliefs but you don’t own them, they own you.

When we use the word belief or believe, we are saying that we think something is true. A belief is an admission that we lack any factual evidence. That statement alone should cause anyone to pause and question their own assumptions about beliefs.

Uttering THE magical phrase, “What if I am wrong?” is the only way to guard against false beliefs and keeps confirmation bias at bay. Certainty is the enemy of learning.

Finally, after spending a lifetime studying belief systems, I am convinced about one thing. Without a shadow of a doubt, most of us go through life seeking kindness. We desire it for ourselves and for others. Frankly, if our beliefs are not leading us every day to demonstrate kindness, then question them. Replace them with others that do.