(7 minute read)

Sense of Gratification

When we make decisions, we often feel a deep-seated comfort. This is somewhat related to the sense of satisfaction. It also provides a sense of security. Gratification from what seems like doing the right thing is a powerful motivator. This applies whether it is instant or delayed. It strongly influences on how we make a decisions on what to believe.

In the interest of our well being, most of us want to make the right decisions. We want is best for ourselves and loved ones. That feeling of doing what we think is right provides an enormous sense of relief and satisfaction.

As we try to make decisions, we face two conflicts at the same time. The pressing needs for short-term and long-term goals. This instant or delayed sense of satisfaction is a simple process. All of us do it. We are usually quick to opt for the choice that will bring us the greatest sense of fulfillment.

It’s been a long day at work. The thought of going home and having to cook something seems more daunting than pulling into a fast food restaurant. So the easy way is to choose the latter. If, however, I am determined to eat healthier I easily decide to take a pass on the drive-thru. I head home to cook a healthful meal. This provides me with an equal amount of gratification.

Maybe I make a new resolution to get more exercise and take a quick jog every morning. So I set the alarm for the next day. But as the alarm goes off I see it is only 26 degrees outside. A cold morning. Pulling the covers up over my head I decide to start tomorrow. But, like the prior example I can take that run and get the same sense of satisfaction.

If these “smaller life decisions” work this way, imagine the implications for our “bigger life decisions.” Consider the impact they have on our psyche?

The Seduction of Simplicity

Comfort beliefs and the sense of gratification are often accompanied with the temptation of simple answers to complex problems. Good and bad things happen randomly to everyone. The reasons for some of those happenstances are often difficult to explain. Understanding why requires effort.

Superstition has historically helped human beings in answering difficult questions. Trust in fate also plays a role. Additionally, belief in an unseen world has also been significant. But as science has evolved, it explains the reasons for many things our ancestors once took for granted. Superstition, fate, and the unseen world evaporate.

For example, before we developed the tools, we could not recognize and track weather patterns. Natural disasters were often blamed on a :capricious god or a mischievous malevolent evil being.” Earthquakes, floods, and storms were considered the work of an unseen world. People often believed appeasement to supernatural forces was required. These appeasements were thought to control future events.

Please the gods and the right amount of rain would fall for a successful harvest. Piss them off and you were in for a heap of hurting.

Today most parents would be appalled to learn that a teacher’s lesson plan included thunder happens because Zeus is angry. And yet, up until 250 years ago this type of superstition is how most would describe changes in the weather.

Ethical Significance

People hesitate to question their belief system for one major reason. They find it difficult to imagine life without it. Giving up these beliefs is unfathomable.

• Without a belief in a higher power why would we need to be ethical?
• What would be the reason to stay moral in our actions?
• What would be the point in living?
• What would be the point of anything?

Scientists, psychologists, ethicists, sociologists, humanists, and anthropologists have addressed these issues and more. People do not replace antiquated belief systems because they are “too complex” to think about. Alternatively, they may find them “not sexy enough” to replace the titillation they get with their existing one.

It may seem like a cruel judgment I am making here. However, abdicating all of our decisions to a simple belief system simply simplifies life. Imagine making decisions not on reason or using the natural senses. Instead, we make decisions based on a system of feelings. It is then easier to cede our will to an unseen world. We wouldn’t have to take any personal responsibility for making those decisions. Just follow the rules laid out by the system.

Most of us are living with that kind of craziness. Following a system means that the big and small decisions have already been made for us. Do this instead of that, or else! To most people, relying on a belief system that “guarantees” a reward in the end is seductive. It is less scary and better than nothing. Unfortunately, that means people continue to rely on pseudoscience and superstition. They use myth, magic, and religion to offer oversimplified reasoning, moralities, and meanings.

I once identified as Catholic and then as a born again Christian. I understand why some feel threatened by the prospect of giving up the ideas of rewards and punishments. The prospect is frightening, like a spaceman floating in space not tethered to anything.

I can no longer identify with such groups. I am amazed at how much I was willing to look the other way. I lived within such a bizarre belief system.

Hope Springs Eternal

In the final section of his book,* Michael Shermer provides a final analysis as to why humans believe in …whatever it is they believe in. We are a species that is forever looking forward, he writes,”always seeking greater levels of happiness and satisfaction.”

Because of that humans are often willing to grasp at unrealistic promises. They believe it will lead to a better life. But there are too many people that believe that this better life is attained through ignorance and intolerance. The proof of this is by watching them lessen the lives of others with their beliefs.

“And sometimes,”he concludes, by focusing on a life to come, we miss what we have in this life.”

The one thing that humans excel at is always remaining hopeful. We constantly want to improve the world. But this same wish can be the very thing that holds us back. By holding onto beliefs in an unseen world that promises …the universe and more …but delivers on nothing, we refrain from taking action. We miss opportunities to improve our life, the lives of others, and the world we live in.

But this change is not pain free. In fact, ee first experienced it as children when we first learned there was no Santa Claus. That may seem to be a trivial statement and by no means do I think there is a direct correlation. If we are honest, learning that the unseen world of a jolly old elf doesn’t exist was troubling. It caused enough of a bother that we’ll do anything to avoid having to go through that again.

No longer a member of the club, it may seem odd closing out this article with this. But, as the writer told the church at Corinth: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child, and I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

“To put away childish things and think like an adult” …it’s not a bad goal! Though it should be the minimum. To think and behave like an adult requires determination. Determination of becoming an autonomous creature. That requires determination to think and reason.

My advice is to believe in a world we can see and know exists. Forget the one that is unseen. It is not there. Thinking and behaving like an adult requires determination. Living an ethical life based on what is good for everyone is reward enough.

Source

*Michael Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things, W.H. Free, 1997