How important is it for you to decide what you believe? Everybody has an answer to this question to varying degrees, and I suspect the majority of folks would answer that it's pretty important to dredge through the options and come up with an explicit metaphysical viewpoint.
As for me, I've been reading some opponents to the concept of developing some kind of metaphysical world view, specifically, that such a world view is universally damaging. See Christopher Hitchen's God is not Great.
Now I haven't read the story in quite some time, and this is not a scholarly piece, but the concept that spending time thinking about "God" whatever that might mean will eventually render something heinous might very well be true (and also a straw man argument). But I'm just not sure that not thinking about the situation is very healthy from a social perspective either.
I mean, consider the situation from a bastardized game theory perspective. In fact this would be an excellent time to draw up a game theory matrix for this. too bad i'm so lazy. nevermind. back to work.
PRECINCT 20: DEAD STRANGE - Crime stories from an urban twilight zone
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PRECINCT 20: DEAD STRANGE
Crime stories from an urban twilight zone
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2 days ago
1 comment:
Hi Josh!
"How important is it for you to decide what you believe?"
The more I think about it, the more it seems like the issue is crucial not just to the individual, but even more so to the group, the society, the culture.
Or let's put it this way: Societies are terrified that people might suddenly start making up their own metaphysics as they go along.
To ensure that this won't happen, the metaphysical indoctrination starts early -- preferably at the age when you'll trust anything the grownups say. The culture works hard to decide what you should believe before you are old enough to work it out in your own mind.
To what degree this is for our own good is a more complex matter -- of course we should raise our children, not leave them untended -- but many of the dogma we are taught wouldn't be so readily swallowed if we were shielded from them until, say, the age of 18.
"Now that you're an adult, we can let you in on the secret: Once there was this big boat, loaded with pairs of all animals..."
Jokes aside... Beliefs are more important to the society than to the individual.
The simplest proof of this is that you can successfully go through life faking belief. You can become a widely respected citizen and regarded as a "deeply pious" man, perhaps even a religious leader... while you really are a very skilled hypocrite.
Sincere belief, and there is such a thing, must come from within. You have to choose or it isn't sincere.
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