Hello, Anyone interested in a debate?

[Angrboda]

I think we are all biased.  Bias tends to ensure that, once we are headed toward one conclusion, we will keep going in the direction of that conclusion.  That's what bias is, viewing the evidence with a preference for one direction over another.  Thus the atheist reinforces her disbelief while the theist reinforces her belief.  Neither can clearly see the reasons of either side because of the working of that bias.

I became an atheist largely because I recognized that I was using reason inconsistently in support of my beliefs.  Now, having embraced atheism, I'm greeted with a host of ostensible 'reasons' for maintaining my disbelief.  Standard arguments, about the incompatibility of various religious beliefs, their geographic dispersion, objections to various theist arguments, and so forth.  To say that I disbelieve due to a lack of evidence would, I think be in error.  I disbelieve, and then I have reasons which reinforce my disbelief.  Just as a theist believes, and then has reasons for that belief.

In short, I recognize that part of my disbelief is bound up in bias against belief, which leads me to certain reasons, whereas a theist in their bias to believe is bound up in bias to believe.  I don't know what I'm trying to say, other than that I acknowledge I have a bias against theist beliefs.

An excellent post!!!  I think this is likely the case for both parties.  Though I would hate to think we are prisoners of our own bias.  If I might ask what methods do you think one might utilize to overcome their own bias?

I believe in the concept of a bias blind spot.  That being that our biases operate at a subconcious level, so it's not possible to gain insight into many of our biases because insight works through introspection, and if the bias operates at the level of the subconscious, there is nothing to introspect.  For example, I may use two different processes in reading the thoughts of someone whom I agree with and when reading someone I disagree with.  My level of scrutiny for errors is considerably relaxed when reading someone I agree with.  However, if I'm reading the arguments of someone I disagree with, I'll deeply analyze the thinking and apply great scrutiny in looking for errors.  I could try to control this double-standard, but it's natural and an unconscious choice I make when I do it.  Being aware that I do it doesn't help me to not do it.  And realistically, what are the options?  I could apply strict scrutiny to the posts of people that I agree with, but that seems like an enormous waste of time and energy.  Or I could apply relaxed scrutiny to the words of the person I disagree with, but that wouldn't serve to deliver the best counters to what the person is saying.  If I fundamentally believe that the person is wrong, then a relaxed standard may lead me to accept an erroneous argument.  So in a sense I'm trapped by my own set of interests.

The bias blind spot is the cognitive bias of recognizing the impact of biases on the judgement of others, while failing to see the impact of biases on one's own judgement. The term was created by Emily Pronin, a social psychologist from Princeton University's Department of Psychology, with colleagues Daniel Lin and Lee Ross. The bias blind spot is named after the visual blind spot.


Causes of bias blindness

The cognitive utilization of bias blind spots may be caused by a variety of other biases and self-deceptions.

Self-enhancement biases may play a role, in that people are motivated to view themselves in a positive light. Biases are generally seen as undesirable, so people tend to think of their own perceptions and judgments as being rational, accurate, and free of bias. The self-enhancement bias also applies when analyzing our own decisions, in that people are likely to think of themselves as better decision makers than others.

People also tend to believe they are aware of "how" and "why" they make their decisions, and therefore conclude that bias did not play a role. Many of our decisions are formed from biases and cognitive shortcuts, which are unconscious processes. By definition, people are unaware of unconscious processes, and therefore cannot see their influence in the decision making process.

When made aware of various biases acting on our perception, decisions, or judgments, research has shown that we are still unable to control them. This contributes to the bias blind spot in that even if one is told that they are biased, they are unable to alter their biased perception.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_blind_spot