(December 19, 2008 at 5:18 am)CoxRox Wrote: At the end of the day, we all decide what we 100% believe e.g I 100% believe I exist, I do not doubt this in any way, so to me my existence is absolute. It may not be to you, but it's how I perceive it that matters.Atleast I don't decide to believe though IMO. I don't decide to believe that cars exist for example. No matter how hard I tried to not believe in the existence of cars. I couldn't just decide not to believe them. I can see them, I can hear them, I can feel them. And I can smell their pollution in the air. I will believe they exist whether I like it or not. Unless I go crazy or something.
I can pretend they don't exist. I can pretend to disbelieve in the existence of cars. I can try and fake it to make it, - if disbelieving in cars was my goal! - Do mantras like: "Cars don't exist cars don't exist cars don't exist". But that won't make me believe cars don't exist if I really DO believe cars exist.
I don't think belief is a matter of policy.
What I wonder is...if you BELIEVE belief is a matter of policy...then can you choose your beliefs? If you BELIEVED 100% that you could choose to disbelieve in cars or believe in Zeus and believe that spearmint flavoured Goblins existed in reality. Could you? I think disbelieving cars would perhaps still be impossible unless you were messed up - because, you know, they're right there in front of you when you go out, right in your face. - But if you believed you could choose to believe in the positive-existence of Goblins, Zeus, the FSM, IPU,etc. If you 100% believed you could choose to do that , could you?
And if you could, the thing is...I believe you could only do that IF you actually believed that you could choose your beliefs in the FIRST place.
I am pretty damn certain you can't choose to believe that you can choose your beliefs! I think your experience of reality would have to compel you in some way, to believe that could actually do that.
I do not believe that belief -at least at the core level - Is a matter of policy; an act of will. And I do not believe I choose to disbelieve that it is a matter of policy - at least at the core level.
By the way, I would have addressed the rest of your post CR but the thing is I pretty much agree with the rest
Besides, if you're going to digress slightly (if it is a digression?) then I guess I can digress slightly too (if it is only slightly, although I am responding to part of your post at least - and also if even that is a digression by me? Or me too?)
Evf
