your beliefs

[SobaViolence]

why do people believe what they believe?
faith? fact? stubborness? ignorance?

i've always wondered how i come to my conclusions, and yet i do think about a lot of crap a lot of the time. i've changed so much over the past 4 years.

it seems sometimes that we each have our own little spectrum, and depending on the minute, hour day or whatever else, we can be on one side or the other. also, it seems some people have a larger spectrum than others, being able to have a larger perspective.

why do i know for a fact that an arab, an african and myself have very little (biologically, at least) that's dissimilar.

why does death, no matter where on earth or no matter who the victim scandalize me?

why can't i get over the fact that no matter what any government says, we are free to believe and practice whatever we want?

i just am curious to see some intelligent (please, read intelligent) discussion, even though this borders on psychology...

we are all born and we all die. the rest is speculation.

help me out.

[D_Raay]

You know I pursued this line of reasoning here once before and got chastised for being too "preachy".

[Johanna]

if you want intellegent people, you've come to the wrong place...

[Ace42]

why do people believe what they believe?
faith? fact? stubborness? ignorance?

All of the above and then some. Add to that "experience, education, deduction, reasoning" - of course all of these and more are found in different ratios in different people.

also, it seems some people have a larger spectrum than others, being able to have a larger perspective.

Some people have larger intellects than others, and so can take multiple viewpoints and additional information, etc into account. Thus they have a more holistic method of evaluating things.


why do i know for a fact that an arab, an african and myself have very little (biologically, at least) that's dissimilar.

Due to scientific research in the field of genetics maybe? Less scientifically, from a comparison of similarities vs differences?

why does death, no matter where on earth or no matter who the victim scandalize me? Due to socialogical and biological factors. It is part of our evolutionary ancestry that we have developed from social primates. Our success as a species is owed, in no small part, to our ability to co-operate, etc. This would be impossible without a genetic predisposition to care about other members of our communities. There are numerous psychological theories based on numerous factors and schools that explain and quantify human interaction on genetic and sociological levels. It would take a long time and a lot of citation to try and give a definitive explanation.

why can't i get over the fact that no matter what any government says, we are free to believe and practice whatever we want?

That would be faith. Read 1984, or talk to Sisko and Capone and say that people are free to believe what they want. Marketing is all about getting people to believe what you want them to, often without direct conscious interaction.


we are all born and we all die. the rest is speculation.


That is speculation. Descartes said "Cogito ergo sum" - that does not translate to "I think therefore we are."

Infact, Geulincx has some very interesting things to say about the nature of existence and thus of death, but that would be going off on a tangent that most people might find boring.

[infidel]

A person's opinions and beliefs are largely shaped by the extent of their knowledge and interaction with the world. For the majority of people in the world their knowledge only extends to the village they live in, their beliefs are very rigid and conformist. On up the ladder it goes, some people only know what is happening in their own country, all the way to people who have their eye on world events. The next big step that influences beliefs is the person who sees first hand what is happening beyond the limited space of their day to day lives. You will find the people with the more limited beliefs and world interaction to be conservative while the people who travel the world as tourist or even more so to help out those in need tend to have more liberal beliefs.

[little j]

i think beliefs are shaped on both how you are raised and the experiences you have.
i was raised to be conservative/sheltered/republican/baised against anything libral/homophobic/anti-sex/etc.
hard core conservative christian, baby

through living, forming my own opinions based on personal experiences i would say my beliefs haven't strayed too far from what i was raised to believe, but they have changed to accomodate my personality and my experiences. i have decided faith is not about religion its about a relationship with god that is my business, not the church's. through my experience i have determined that "the church" is pretty much corrupt from the top of the pyramid (the leader) to the bottom (the sheep) i have determined that homosexuals are not scary, and they are cool people, just like me. and sex is great. its not a bad thing to vote democrat, that you should vote for and support who you think will be the best choice in leadership, whatever party that person represents.

i dont think im making much sense....it is only 748 this morning...but hopefully you can understand at least the gist of what im trying to say.

i guess my main point is that you can be raised a certain way and add to that experiences and self-ideas that shape and grow your beliefs.

or something.

[SobaViolence]

thanks little j

that was refreshingly honest.

:D

[EN[i]GMA]

I would respond but I'm tired. Just take it for granted that I know what I'm talking about; I have a lot of posts.

[travesty]

GMA']I would respond but I'm tired. Just take it for granted that I know what I'm talking about; I have a lot of posts.

By that reasoning.........

Total Posts
Enigma- 975
Tone Capone - 1518
Sisko- 639

You know a little more than sisko but not nearly as much as Tone Capone? Sounds about right :D

[EN[i]GMA]

No. It only applies to me. Tones an idiot.

[Ace42]

Maybe the post-count rule of thumb is inverted when applied to Republicans / Bushites / jarheads?

[travesty]

GMA']No. It only applies to me. Tones an idiot.

I think that storm in your mind is picking up strength (y)

[milleson]

I have no idea if this is on topic, but...

I used to think that reincarntation was kind of bogus. Then I thought more about it.

Are brain waves energy, you know thoughts? They have to be something. Energy seems the most likely choice, even though they are not tangible.
If they are, and if energy can be neither created nor destroyed, where does mental energy go when you die?

Please don't taunt me.... I'm serious.

[travesty]

I have no idea if this is on topic, but...

I used to think that reincarntation was kind of bogus. Then I thought more about it.

Are brain waves energy, you know thoughts? They have to be something. Energy seems the most likely choice, even though they are not tangible.
If they are, and if energy can be neither created nor destroyed, where does mental energy go when you die?

Please don't taunt me.... I'm serious.

That's what makes your muscles tense up during rigormortis.

[sneakyimp]

i believe that your soul can only manifest itself after you die in the things you've made and in the memories you leave with others.

i also believe in sportsmanship--although i was a very bad sportsman when i was younger.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/rugby.asp

[grass_roots]

simply put, I believe in what I believe because of who I am and how I've come to be that way

it's a all circumstancial and pre-ordained at the same time

[Grasshopper]

hm.

US Federal Government is exceedingly corrupt. It has been historically corrupt, but at this point it -- since Eisenhower and beyond -- it has reached insane proportions.

milleson, it's nice to see another Texan with correct information regarding Bush. Makes me weep a tear for Ann Richards.
He has really used the Cowboy Mystique to gross proportions. (n)

If Americans love one thing, it's mystique, nostalgia, and stereotypes. Just watch any television, sports or any news show. (n)

Sometimes I feel like this is the same era as the Robber Barons and P.T. Barnum.

I wonder how the relationship between Putin and Bush will play in the election. Somehow, I don't see Kerry and Putin being buddy buddy.
Putin and the Bush Admin have much of the same ideology. :eek:

[yeahwho]

I believe I can live forever. So far, So good.

[Blighty]

Jess said it pretty beautifully. Much of it is down to your parents. There's a British poet called Philip Larkin who once wrote 'They fuck you up your parents. They don't mean to but they do.' That pretty much sums it up for me. They have a huge influence on you particularly during the first chunk of your life. Most people tend to adopt their parents beliefs/world view or rebel against it and adopt the opposite.

TV and the mass media in general is obviously a huge influence too. TVs babysit kids now and I can't think of anything that fucks with people brains worse (aside from parents) than the mass media.

The third guilty party is the school system which turns out generally miserable indebt adults who've had their hopes, dreams and individuality beaten out of them by a system that tells you that learning is regurgatiting information. Once you're out of that it's 'Get a job! Get more into debt! Consume.'

Then you have peer groups, other family members, friends. And then religion and government. Goverment are in 2 and 3 though as they have a huge influence on the media and the school system. Of course corporations have a huge influence on governments of the world hence the 'war will solve our problems' mentality (war makes money). 'Consuming will make you happy and set you free' (mo money). Remember right after 9/11 when Bush told Americans to go show those terrorist they haven't won by going out and shopping.

[chrisd]

political beliefs rest on an erotic childhood experience which then turns into a collective conviction due to the insight that you probably will never smell that hair again