(May 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm)Valyza1 Wrote:(May 21, 2017 at 5:33 pm)Alex K Wrote: Because the number of possible false claims is so large that a randomly chosen one is almost certainly false. Only evidence changes those odds.
But when people make claims, are they generally choosing from a pool of random claims? That seems unlikely. It seems rather that most of the time they are choosing from a pool of claims they actually believe and usually, in [b]order to actually believe in a claim there must at least be some kernel of truth to it[b], which cuts out most random propositions.
Bold in the last paragraph mine.
This is absolutely untrue.
Belief is simply the psychological state in which one accepts a premise or proposition to be true.
When ancient Greeks believed in Zeus, Andromeda, Poseidon, etc, was there a kernel of truth to their beliefs?
Flat earth, geocentrism, 6000 year old earth, Ginn, garden fairies, all beliefs people hold, either in the past or currently, have no kernel of truth.
The truth of a claim is not dependant in any way by, how fervently one believes it, how many people believe it, how long the belief has been around.
The only thing that is critical to a claim, is if the claim can be shown to comport to reality.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
