(October 16, 2013 at 5:09 pm)freedomfromfallacy Wrote:(October 16, 2013 at 4:22 pm)LarissaAnn Wrote: -Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does-
Beliefs affect behaviors. If I believe that I can fly, and that belief causes me to leap from a bridge; would that not affect judgments of my personality? Would I have in fact been a "good" person, or an even better person if I had challenged my beliefs with greater scrutiny? What is a "good person"? Whether this quote is one of your own or not, I do not know, but I do challenge the position that suggests beliefs do not shape our ideologies, and in turn, our behaviors, and next, our reputation.
you bring up a very interesting issue Freedom from fallacy. Do beliefs determine behaviour?
On the surface, this might seem like a very silly question, and it seems obvious that beliefs affect behaviour, but none of the sciences have been able to prove that.
The latest research in neurobiology seems to suggest otherwise. Infact, the conception of human beings as agents whose actions are determined by their intentions and belief states is unique to western culture and is an inheritance of Judeo-Christian theology.
