The Tyranny of Belief

“Of course you have beliefs,” said my friend as we sat having breakfast, “everyone does.” He made a graph on the table with a fork and spoon showing the boundaries of what he called “mainstream thought.” Then he took the knife and placed it on the edge of the table: “You’re over here,” he said.

What I’m “over here” about seems to be the beliefs part. No one likes to be told their beliefs are wrong. That’s enough of an offense by itself. But what really gets people’s goat is questioning their attachment to belief. What most people believe in, and few dare to question, is the universal goodness and desirability of their beliefs–which usually include their submission to a “higher power” or “something greater.”

Based on a reading of works on the human mind such as The Emotion Machine, The Blank Slate, or the Age of Spiritual Machines, it seems the entire concept of belief needs to be reworked and possibly eliminated. In common usage, the term belief often refers to acceptance of an idea without evidence, or in spite of contrary evidence.

Think of the axioms: “Believe in yourself,” “believe it’s possible,” “believe in God,” “believe in your country,” “believe in a better world,” “believe in human goodness,” and the topper “believe in the power of faith.” That last one always gets me: you’re basically saying believe in belief. Now I understand the sentimental value of such a statement — basically what you’re affirming it is that you feel strongly about the ability of your conscious desire to have its effect on the world. But notice in all this belief rhetoric, never is the connection between thought and action discussed. Never is the need reinforced for effective assessment of the situation, strategy, and action to be taken. The subconscious message is: “simply believe, and it will be so.” It’s kind of a cultural codification of magical thinking, and its implied corollary is “don’t think negative thoughts, you might cause bad things to happen.”

These concepts are clear leftovers from medieval times. We don’t need them, and we should simply let them go. In this wise, I agree with Paul and Patricia Churchland, who are of the eliminativist stance toward beliefs. I can also go along with Dennett and his advocacy of the intentional stance, whereby as a survival tactic we make lightning-fast assumptions about people’s beliefs to predict their actions. But in terms of Marvin Minsky’s view of how the mind works, a belief is simply the output of our constantly changing modes of thought; along with the censors, critics and sub-personalities which make up our identity. All we can say about belief is that it means a person has decided that profession of a certain point of view represents a good strategy for attaining their goals in that moment. It has little to do with truth, sincerity, or inquiry. A belief is often simply a transient stance a person considers advantageous to their “self.”

Like most mental and emotional props and crutches people use, deep down they know belief is a crutch. The parts of their brain involved in self-analysis understand exactly what the beliefs are doing for them (even if that information is not available to their conscious mind.) We know the vast majority of people disparage the idea of beliefs–even as they profess them. They understand fully that they are unreliable. Try this experiment: strongly state an opinion in front of a group, and make it as controversial as possible. One of the first retorts you will hear is “That’s what YOU believe.” Whenever we state something a person wants to dispute, the first thing they do is to try to remove the information from the category of fact, and place it into the realm of belief. So on the one hand we have people who are willing to defend their beliefs to the death, but on the other hand, they disparage what others say as “just their belief.” You can’t have it both ways. We hear this all the time in uninformed discussions: “Science/atheism is just another belief system.” If belief is so great, why then do believers routinely use the term as a pejorative?

The blurb for this site says: “The quest for empirical knowledge and reason gives purpose to life. Supernaturalism, mysticism, and religion take it away. The best anyone can do is to attempt to eliminate all beliefs and subjective biases.”

Let’s deconstruct my motto a little bit. The first two sentences are clear declarations of my values. A typical criticism is that those values in and of themselves are beliefs. And in one sense of the word, that’s true. Which is why the third sentence says. “The best anyone can do is to ATTEMPT to eliminate all beliefs and subjective biases.” I’m not saying this is even humanly possible, or for that matter even logically possible. (Our conscious mind seems to treat beliefs we consider to be true almost exactly the same as facts, we have to learn to distinguish the two, or put another way, to get in closer touch with our mechanisms of self-analysis.) In order to attempt this journey to objectivity, we must first declare one of our core values, which consists of a foundational statement that objectivity is better than non-objectivity. Again, the point can be raised: no one is objective, everyone brings some biases to the table.

But somehow, we must establish and declare our desired idealized state. In my case, that would be having accomplished the goal of bringing my mind and perception as close as possible to a perfectly accurate apprehension of the physical reality we all inhabit–the world that IS. This allows me to make the best decisions I can make, and offers the least chance of disillusionment. It also offers the best chance of survival.

For the sake of this discussion, I would like to set aside the idea that we might live in a simulation, or a solipsistic dream. I would also like to address the question of the supernatural. “Supernatural” is a weasel word. It is not possible for the supernatural to exist. If something exists, it is natural. No matter how fantastic the universe might seem, even if string theorists are correct, and we live in 10 dimensions in a multi-verse, that is all still the natural world. If the Christian heaven, or Nirvana, or whatever passes for heaven in the Islamic world really exist, we should be able to eventually discover them through empirical means. It would still, therefore, be physical and natural. There can be no spirit-matter split. Just like there is no mind-body split. Those concepts are a leftover from when people thought fire was created by phlogiston, and disease was “bad humour.”

Understanding and accepting that all causes and phenomena are natural is really not so far-fetched. Think about what we’ve discovered since Anton van Leeuwenhoek created the optical microscope. Prior to his invention, nothing smaller than what could be seen with the naked eye was known or understood–not even bacteria. Now we know that each atom contains its own collection of particles, and every day we learn still more.

My point here is to say that the concept of belief tends to be used to keep two areas of life off-limits to inquiry: chiefly spirituality and human consciousness. Spirituality is what most people use as a hedge against their own inevitable death. That feeling that we are ultimately a part of “something greater,” and that our consciousness does not end when our metabolism ceases is comforting to some. The phenomenon of consciousness is also kept off-limits to inquiry for others, by their stubborn insistence that we “must” be more than an assemblage of atoms, molecules, and cells. To keep from having an existential crisis, they insist to themselves our brains couldn’t possibly explain our cognition–we must be more than clockwork.

Materialistic “reductionism” or “naive realism” is a terrible threat to many people’s sense of themselves. Rather than looking at our inevitable greater understanding as a boon to humanity, they see this knowledge taking away their last shreds of meaning. Indeed, modern science has not been kind to concepts of human purpose (teleological argument), and human centrality in the universe. But let’s take a look at where this highly vaunted “meaning” comes from: ancient books, legends, and outdated sentimental notions of dualism. The idea of spirit as the basic building block of consciousness, and consciousness preceding and pervading all matter. Or from discredited practices such as astrology, psychicism, witchcraft, or alchemy. Sadly, if these sources are where people’s meaning comes from, they are living in a mental house of cards, which they must continuously attempt to guard with great effort against the winds of progress.

So how do we get from this fearful state of belief (willed strategic ignorance) to a confident and bright future? We have to devise a way of bringing our hopes and dreams into congruence with this universe that IS. Imagine if you will, a huge museum, many times larger than the Smithsonian. Imagine that this museum contains all the truth and knowledge in existence–the secrets of the ages and the origin of the universe. The displays are engaging, interactive, and geared to the level of understanding of each person who visits. The halls are endless (at least no one has ever found their limits). Now imagine you can spend your whole life in this place, going from room to room, each day gaining a greater understanding of truth and reality than what you had before.

Such a museum exists, it is called the natural universe. It is right here in front of our eyes. Every person can avail themselves of the exhibits, simply through taking up a course of study in any of the physical sciences. It is a literal treasure house of true meaning and knowledge, orders of magnitude deeper, wider, and more complex than all prior human knowledge combined.

Right now, most of humanity sits in the dim and stuffy orientation hall watching old videos, reading old books, and arguing away about the supposedly subjective and variable nature of truth and reality. Or they are distracted by the spiritualist preachers who shout and congregate outside the museum doors seeking to reinforce the mental chains and blinders of ancient times.

So when I say “get rid of your beliefs.” I’m not talking about your opinions, politics, whether or not white or red wine is better, Mac or PC, Democrat or Republican. Everyone has those, of course. For me, it’s red wine, PC, definitely, neither Democrat nor Republican. But I could be great friends with a Mac lover, a Chardonnay drinker, even a *cough* socialist for that matter. These are the kind of beliefs we all use to get through our lives. But when it comes to the nature of reality, if we want truth, we absolutely must not believe. We must still engage in acts of conscious submission–but not before idols or ancient texts. We must deeply humble ourselves, and OBSERVE.

Deconstructing the types of beliefs

Beliefs fall into four main categories: opinions, predictions, superstitions, and strategies. In the first post of this series, we made the distinction between beliefs about the nature of reality, and what would better be termed opinions or preferences. We also discussed a kind of superstitious voodoo ‘belief’ or ‘magical thinking,’ whereby one ‘believes’ they can influence outcomes (either positively or negatively) simply by believing.

There are also predictions, such as “I believe the sun will rise tomorrow,” or “I believe the Red Sox will win the World Series.” An objective person can make such predictions, or educated guesses, (as long as odds are properly calculated). Things will either turn out as predicted, or they will not. Either way, there is a clear method for checking the result, and a person who consistently makes bad predictions is likely to lose a lot of money or credibility with his or her friends.

We also discussed the belief or, value as I would prefer to call it, that states “objectivity about the nature of reality is better than non-objectivity.” I’ve struggled with the idea of this being a belief, because someone could argue that they don’t need objectivity, and that they could be happier spending all day every day praying to Jesus, or being in meditatively or chemically altered states. I would make the case that such people would be disadvantaged when compared with others who took their mundane life a little more seriously.

I therefore maintain that preferring objectivity is not a belief at all, but is rather a learned trait supported by evolution: people who understand the nature of their world generally live longer and can produce more offspring if they so choose. Such people are also less likely to be surprised by unexpected events, or snookered by the unscrupulous. The desire for objectivity and consistency between one’s inner ‘map’ of the universe and the observed outer world is a universal human desire–one necessary for survival.

I’m now going to examine a different sort of belief–one where you need to convince yourself of something you know is unlikely or definitely false. Let’s say you are told you have terminal cancer. A certain percentage of people who get such a diagnosis actually end up making a full recovery. Even if the percentage is very low, and you know it, it is still important for you to convince yourself you will be in that select group. Studies have shown that even among the terminally ill, a patient’s attitudes about their health have some potential to affect their immune system and other resources their body uses to fight off disease. In fact, laughter and positive beliefs have both been shown to have curative powers. There is also the placebo effect, which is well documented. This seems to be more evidence against the so-called “mind-body” duality. We are one organism, and what we think about can affect the functioning of otherwise involuntary metabolic processes. No voodoo here.

Another positive role for belief would be for those embarking on difficult tasks, such as starting a business, running a marathon, surviving while gravely injured in the wilderness, or other feats of endurance. Again, it is important for us to believe in ourselves in these moments: doubt will cause us to abandon our enterprise when the going gets tough. In extreme survival situations, doubt can be fatal. But we have to ask ourselves: is it belief? Or is it determination? I would say the latter. Sometimes doubt is healthy. It goes along with fear. Both can be healthy deterrents to foolish actions. So we can replace “believe in yourself” with “choose a wise course of action, assess the potential for success, and hold strong determination.” A much more powerful strategy than mere baseless belief.
So let’s recap:

The following types of ‘beliefs’ are really opinions or values. Evidence may lean strongly one way or the other, given certain assumptions. But they cannot be stated to be categorically ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’:

1. Red wine is better than white. [Red could be better if you are talking about preventing heart disease.]
2. Mac is better than PC. [Could be true if you valued style and ease-of-use over price/performance.]
3. No one should have pre-marital sex. [Could be true if there actually was proven to be a Catholic god who prohibits pre-marital sex and would consign violators to hell.]
4. Bush is the worst president in history. [Would have to state criterion for ‘worst,’ and cite evidence. OK, OK, not very hard to prove.]
5. Everyone should reduce their carbon footprint and we should cap global carbon levels. [Would be true provided we want to survive past the next few generations.]

The following types of ‘beliefs’ are superstitions. They are statements about the nature of reality or events. They cannot be disproven, (since we can’t prove a negative), but no solid evidence supports them:

1. Positive thoughts can influence external events and make good things happen.
2. Negative thoughts can hurt other people and make bad things happen.
3. The motion of distant stars and planets can affect human fortunes.
4. A supernatural realm exists where your spirit goes when you die.
5. People have been abducted and experimented on by aliens.

The following ‘beliefs’ are predictions. They may be wrong, but they can eventually be checked against the evidence:

1. The Sun will rise tomorrow.
2. Computers will pass the Turing Test by 2029.
3. The Red Sox will win the next World Series.
4. I will live to my 50th birthday.
5. When I pick up the remote and press the on button, the TV will activate.

The following types of ‘beliefs’ are actually strategies. They may not work, but they may be useful in programming your brain to do the best job of controlling your bodies’ immune system, or in disciplining yourself to reach a goal.

1. I’m going to be cured of this case of terminal cancer.
2. I’m going to stay alive in this crevasse until I’m rescued.
3. If I want, I can lose 20 lbs. by the end of the year.
4. I can go out and find undervalued stocks or properties and sell them at a profit.
5. I’m worth more than I’m being paid, and I’m going to make the money I deserve even if I have to quit my job and start my own business.

So don’t let your mind be ruled by your beliefs. Take back your power. Analyze any belief you have, for which type it is, and whether it’s truly useful to you–because it’s supported by good evidence.