I think a lot of the time "beliefs" are more about social signaling than actual worldview. Most people aren't going to do anything to go against the grain for the sake of their beliefs, so one belief or another isn't going to make a difference for anything that matters.
this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2025
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Well yeah. What you believe is literally all reality is. Of course it's important. I believe I'm sitting in a chair typing on my phone right now - if I didn't have those beliefs, my reality would be completely different. That's important
Because everything we can say about reality is through the human perspective and the construct of language. We believe that this can yield us truths. But its just a belief. Our human-ness might just as well blind us to what is actually true. And as such, most of everything we think we know is based on belief. There is no escaping this problem.
Ahh, now that's an interesting idea. Beliefs are important because they are communicable. So belief gains weight from its social significance. As society is powerful then so are beliefs.
So a man outside society, a hermit, might find his beliefs falling away.
Yes. And also explains why worldviews are so different between cultural, linguistical and geographically different groups of people.
Even though we're becoming more and more unified, through the internet, through logic systems like maths or science in general. This is not to be mistaken for truth. Western scientific ideology specifically has as unspoken 'truth' that when ideas 'win', they are more valuable. While English, our logical rules, our ideologies are winning not because they are true but because they are believed more, or over, other languages, logic systems and ideologies.
Ofcourse these systems of beliefs create opportunities and knowledge for people. Don't mistake my dismissal of truth for disaproval.
All I know is that nobody knows shit.
If you don't know shit you need to eat some real food!
Nonetheless we definitely get attached to certain ideas. For various reasons.
But more than that, getting attached to certain ideas (believing stuff) is widely considered to be normal, right, healthy and necessary.
So you gotta ask why that is.
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People do that. Like kids talking about their favorite baseball team. The same focus on things that move them to the core, while having no effect on to their life apart the place they willingly give them.
I believe I'd like another drink.
IMO "I don't know" is a perfectly valid opinion if you just don't know.