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What do you believe but cannot prove?
DodgeBlan
PSN: dodgeblanRegistered User regular
PSN: dodgeblanRegistered User regular
This thread is shamelessly stolen from a book I saw in a shop in london. So then,
what do you believe but cannot prove?
I believe that our growing culture of mood altering medication, special consideration and liability is a poor solution for personal problems and often a distraction from actually dealing with issues. You aren't depressed because your life is depressing, you have a chemical imbalance in your brain. You can't study because you have a learning disorder, its not that you are undisciplined.
I'll keep it at that because I'm sure it will piss people off and the thread isn't really about what i said.
what do you believe but cannot prove?
I believe that our growing culture of mood altering medication, special consideration and liability is a poor solution for personal problems and often a distraction from actually dealing with issues. You aren't depressed because your life is depressing, you have a chemical imbalance in your brain. You can't study because you have a learning disorder, its not that you are undisciplined.
I'll keep it at that because I'm sure it will piss people off and the thread isn't really about what i said.
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https://medium.com/@alascii
I believe in a soul.
I have no reason to, my belief defies my logic, and were I to rely strictly on reason, I probably would conclude that it's impossible. But that belief gives me comfort, and I want to believe it.
Don't try to tell me how flawed that is. I know.
That being said, I still strongly believe in all that science has to offer. I use the word "beleive" now in the same sense that I say I "believe" the sun will rise tomorrow. An example I believe I stole from Richard Dawkins. I can't remember.
It's an odd dichotomy. As strongly as I want to believe in an after-life, I more often than not end up arguing a very definite athiest point of view. I suppose because I'm so insecure and serious about the fallacy of my own beliefs, whenever I come across anyone who tries to pass their own spiritual beliefs as the obvious and logical path, I want to destroy their entire argument. I typically pass them off as fools, at least in that matter. But what do I know? I'm an idiot, anyhow. I don't mean that entirely, but in a more general sense. I'm missing a lot of information, all the time about everything.
I most admire people who say, "I don't have any sort of strong reason for it, and I maybe be wrong, but I still believe in God." This also relies on the fact that they don't reject, say, evolution.
"I may have no evidence for it, but I strongly believe the Earth is 6,000 years old."
Same here. I do my best to demand proof from all my friends for their wild claims.
https://medium.com/@alascii
There was an article on the same topic. It was quizzing scientists, and asking them what they believe without proof. I only remember one answer, and it was that modern singing grew out of basic yodeling. I don't remember if he was just claiming the yodel was the birth of music, or that the physical act of the yodel itself was the catalyst for an evolutionary change which allowed us to sing as we do now.
My point is that everyone has something they believe without proof. Even something as mundane and earthly as singing. It doesn't have to be emotional, or spiritual, like mine. Just, something. Maybe, without a real reason, you believe your neighbor is gay.
If only.
https://medium.com/@alascii
I also think there is a gigantic demon in my closet that feeds from my soul at night. That's something else entirely.
Not unless we're using a less rigid definition of belief than I thought we are. I might have suspicions of something, based on too little evidence to actually be decided on the matter. I might have a hunch, which could be based on subconscious observations or on nothing at all, but that's even less than a suspicion. I might believe something erroneously, not having properly considered the proof required, but if it's brought to my attention I'll re-evaluate the evidence and decide whether to believe it or not. There are basic axioms I have to accept, of course, but I don't know of anything that I believe in without also believing that there is sufficient proof to justify my belief.
Yes, it does, actually. I prefer my decisions to be rational. I fail to see how believing in something for no reason can be considered a comfort.
1. In my post I used the more obvious definition of belief, but not because I thought that I was required to. As I understand it, the definition of belief in this thread is the more general, conceptive, kind of belief. Also, you didn't give one. So you still owe us.
2. I don't buy it! How can cold logic keep you warm?! Unless you're...
I believe cars are a lethal weapon and a tool and should be treated as such.
I believe that there may be a higher power at work in the universe, although I hesitate to call it "God" or accept religion's interpretations of it and its wishes.
I believe that there is life on planets other than our own.
I believe that the American constitution has the status of a religion in the minds of many.
To avoid confusion, then: believe, to accept as true, genuine, or real. Not the religious faith sort of belief.
You still haven't given us one. And, what, three posts now? So yours has to be at least 3 times as interesting as everyone else's here. If that's not possible yours must be as interesting as possible.
The american people won't elect another C student.
I know it's crazier than scientology, but I can't help myself.
You weren't asking for a clarification of 'belief'? Then what the hell are you talking about? I already said I don't hold any unfounded beliefs.
I'd be willing to say 100%. Copernican principle for teh win.
I already clarified that neither I, nor the thread as I understand it, are specifically asking for beliefs in that sense. There is not one thing you believe (as in you believe the sun will rise tomorrow) without proof? I realise we're just arguing semantics, now. But at least answer the thread in a more substantial manner than "nope." There has to be something you accept as true or most likely true without sufficient reason to do so. Something you believe by some reason which wouldn't pass the most cynical skeptic. You're human. There just has to be something.
I've been considerably more loquacious than just "nope". As I've said, there are basic axioms that I have to accept in order to function, like 1=1 and everything else of that sort. I've said that I'm obliged to accept a lot of information without personally proving it, working under the belief that certain sources can be trusted to certain extents. If a friend tells me they'll meet me at the restaurant in half an hour, I assume that they will. What do you want? There's not much more I can say than what I already have, except to admit that I believe in something without reason, which I don't.
That said, I believe there's a greater power. Even if it's as simple as a force beyond the physical limitations of our universe, something had to point the arrow of time in the direction it's flowing. And I believe it's unlikely any human will ever reach the cognitive ability to even fathom how it all went down.
I also believe there's likely life, or evidence of former life, on Mars, but we'll never find out about it. Because that bodes very poorly for the religious officials that regulate everything that happens in this country, and I doubt anyone's gonna beat us to Mars.
I suppose I should have backed off earlier, but perhaps my judgment was lax because of exhaustion. I usually stick a decently regular schedule, but stayed up the entire night after getting Halo 3, and haven't slept, because I have class today.
I didn't mean to insinuate you had any obligation whatsoever to answer the question. I was being an ass, and I thought it was funny for whatever unknown reason. However, after reading your reply, it was a startling realization that I look like a dick...
So I apologize.
I don't know about believing in things for no reason, but there are plenty of concepts that are so huge and unwieldy as to be unprovable that people accept on a regular basis because it makes like easier.
I have the whole 'belief in the fundamental decency of people' thing for example. Ignorant, confused, prone to jumping to conclusions, harassed, frustrated and a little bit flipped, sure, but never fundamentally bad. I'm almost certainly wrong, but there you go. It makes working with petty crimminals easier, at least.
How can they fill an entire book with things that real, world famous scientists believe though cannot prove whereas everyday forum denizens are grinding to a halt at the simple question?
There are NO entries in the book that say "EVERYTHING I BELIEVE OR THINK HAS A WATERTIGHT BASIS IN FACTUAL DATA. ERROR" simply because sometimes people think things, for whatever reason, that are not or cannot be proven. at least not yet. thats how discoveries get discovered!
I actually don't believe you if you say everything in your head is there because of concrete facts.
https://medium.com/@alascii
Edit: The reason why I thought this was valid, is because it is one of the few things that I believe that I cannot prove to myself. Everything else I know comes from fact, not an arbitrary "feeling" I get.
Belief: Something accepted as truth.
Know: Aware of a fact.
Belief denotes acceptance, while "know" =fact.
Even the word “accept*†is defined without the words fact or proof. The idea that all beliefs must have **proof is to redefine the very word “belief.â€
If you require proof, then you cannot believe: you can only know.
That said I believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. ARRR...
*Accept- consider or hold as true
**Proof- any factual evidence that helps to establish the truth of something.