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The Ethics of Belief
#18
RE: The Ethics of Belief
(July 22, 2015 at 10:31 pm)Dystopia Wrote:
Quote:When one believes one thing, it affects the other beliefs one has.  Both in terms of what other things fit with it, and in terms of the way one acquires one's beliefs.  In your specific example of deism, it is likely to impact one's examination of the origins of the universe, as well as make one more receptive to other god related beliefs.  And those affected beliefs may affect other beliefs, rather like a pebble being tossed into a still pond, causing a ripple across the surface.
I can certainly see the evidence and merit to the conclusion that all our beliefs are connected at least by the mere fact all of it belongs to us (and our brains) and therefore no belief exists in isolation - That makes perfect sense and I hadn't thought about it because I didn't see it as relevant to this topic.


It is a very important part of what Clifford is saying.  For anyone who values consistency (and almost everyone does in some instances at least), if one has a particular belief about something, one will tend to reject beliefs that one sees as inconsistent with it, and to be more inclined to accept beliefs that seem to follow from it in conjunction with one's other beliefs.

If you think about a deductive system of reasoning, one false premise can really muck up quite a few conclusions.  So one little, seemingly unimportant belief can have a profound impact on the totality of beliefs one has.

That is important enough that I will repeat it for emphasis:

If you think about a deductive system of reasoning, one false premise can really muck up quite a few conclusions.  So one little, seemingly unimportant belief can have a profound impact on the totality of beliefs one has.


(July 22, 2015 at 10:31 pm)Dystopia Wrote: I have some doubts regarding your example -



Two things.  First, and most importantly, nothing hinges on that specific example playing out as I suggested.  So I don't care about it too much.  Second, the fact that something else is more dangerous is not a reason to believe that the less dangerous thing is not also dangerous.


This reply is overlong, so I have hidden most of it.  Feel free to respond to only bits of it for a new post, if you wish to respond to any of it at all, which you obviously need not do so if you do not wish to.  You can also respond to a bit of it for one post, and another bit for another post, if you wish to keep the posts to a reasonable length.




"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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Messages In This Thread
The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 22, 2015 at 2:58 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by MysticKnight - July 22, 2015 at 5:45 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Cato - July 22, 2015 at 6:24 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by abaris - July 22, 2015 at 6:52 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 22, 2015 at 8:21 pm
The Ethics of Belief - by KUSA - July 22, 2015 at 6:29 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Dystopia - July 22, 2015 at 7:09 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 22, 2015 at 9:09 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Dystopia - July 22, 2015 at 10:31 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 2:04 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 22, 2015 at 7:49 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 22, 2015 at 9:33 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Minimalist - July 22, 2015 at 8:18 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 22, 2015 at 9:45 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 22, 2015 at 10:08 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 12:35 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 23, 2015 at 7:16 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by abaris - July 23, 2015 at 7:24 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 23, 2015 at 8:25 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 10:10 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 23, 2015 at 11:41 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 24, 2015 at 12:02 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Minimalist - July 22, 2015 at 10:38 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 2:13 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by robvalue - July 23, 2015 at 11:04 am
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 2:17 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by The Grand Nudger - July 23, 2015 at 9:26 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by bennyboy - July 23, 2015 at 9:45 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 23, 2015 at 10:25 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by robvalue - July 24, 2015 at 1:08 am
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by robvalue - July 24, 2015 at 12:06 pm
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by Pyrrho - July 25, 2015 at 10:08 am
RE: The Ethics of Belief - by The Grand Nudger - July 25, 2015 at 2:27 pm

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