Big Question 2

[KLewchuk]

One question that I've been thinking about is this:

Why do intelligent people, believe stupid things?

To be clear, I am not interested in a definition of "stupid" or some relativistic nonsense. Rather, to bring the temperature down a notch... for example, why is there is there a significant community of people who believe the earth is flat?

My question is not related to this example, the question is why do people believe nonsense?

[Veritas Aequitas]

Why People Believe Weird Things
Michael Shermer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Peopl ... ird_Things

Basically all humans are 'infected' or rather "programmed" with a fundamental inherent cognitive dissonance.
To seek consonance, people will believe in whatever that will relieve that dissonance and the most common of such irrational delusional belief is 'God exists' which give immediate reliefs. As such the majority will cling to such an delusional beliefs else the dissonance will be triggered and resulting in mental pains and sufferings.

One answer to why is, because it works and has survival values as its pro but unfortunately that is double-edged and thus has terrible cons as well.

Beside 'God exists' as the 'father' of all irrational beliefs there are other irrational beliefs that will bring about consonances.
Some might even believe there are square-circles and cling to it if such a belief does bring about consonance in some aspects.

[KLewchuk]

Why People Believe Weird Things
Michael Shermer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Peopl ... ird_Things

Basically all humans are 'infected' or rather "programmed" with a fundamental inherent cognitive dissonance.
To seek consonance, people will believe in whatever that will relieve that dissonance and the most common of such irrational delusional belief is 'God exists' which give immediate reliefs. As such the majority will cling to such an delusional beliefs else the dissonance will be triggered and resulting in mental pains and sufferings.

One answer to why is, because it works and has survival values as its pro but unfortunately that is double-edged and thus has terrible cons as well.

Beside 'God exists' as the 'father' of all irrational beliefs there are other irrational beliefs that will bring about consonances.
Some might even believe there are square-circles and cling to it if such a belief does bring about consonance in some aspects.

Interesting, I have not read this before.

So, would you say that people who hold logical contradictions are doing so in order to psychological resolve a cognitive dissonance? That seems right to me. For example, the Trinity in Christianity is a paradox (i.e. getting beyond the BS, either you are a polytheist, everything is god, or Jesus wasn't god). However, accepting the Trinity resolves the cognitive dissonance.

[Veritas Aequitas]

Why People Believe Weird Things
Michael Shermer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Peopl ... ird_Things

Basically all humans are 'infected' or rather "programmed" with a fundamental inherent cognitive dissonance.
To seek consonance, people will believe in whatever as long as such beliefs actually enable the relieve of that dissonance. This 'whatever' are often beliefs that are irrational and contradictory because there is no room for the hardcore irrational beliefs to be proven to be wrong.

The most common of such irrational-delusional belief is 'God exists' which give immediate reliefs. The fact is such irrational beliefs actually works!!! As such the majority will cling to these delusional beliefs else the dissonance will be triggered and resulting in mental pains and sufferings.

One answer to why people belief in weird things is, because it works and has survival values as its pro but unfortunately it is double-edged and thus has terrible cons as well.

Beside 'God exists' as the 'father' of all irrational beliefs there are other irrational beliefs that will bring about consonances.
Some might even believe there are square-circles and cling to it if such a belief does bring about consonance in some aspects.

Interesting, I have not read this before.

So, would you say that people who hold logical contradictions are doing so in order to psychological resolve a cognitive dissonance? That seems right to me. For example, the Trinity in Christianity is a paradox (i.e. getting beyond the BS, either you are a polytheist, everything is god, or Jesus wasn't god). However, accepting the Trinity resolves the cognitive dissonance.

The mother of all cognitive dissonance is this;

• 1. All humans are "programmed" to survive and contrary to this is pain. [P]
  
  2. At the same time, All humans are also "programmed" to be self-conscious, thus is aware of inevitable mortality which is contrary to 1 above.[not-P]

The internalized 1[P] and 2[not-P] generate the subliminal cognitive dissonance.
The promise of salvation and eternal life by a God [illusory and irrational] modulated 2 [not-p] and thus enable consonance to extinguish the cognitive dissonance.

Accepting the Trinity and other weird stuffs are part of the whole set of theism.

Some may believe in aliens who promise to come to rescue them to eternal life or it can be any weird beliefs that can dissolve the pains arising from cognitive dissonance.

Many of the non-theists turn to drugs and pain-killers to deal with the existential pains of this mother of all cognitive dissonance.

Because the cognitive dissonance is inherent in ALL humans, humans will do whatever it takes to dissolve the dissonance.
The most effective ways to dissolve this inherent dissonance is to resort to the irrational belief of a God which promise eternal life while others turn to drugs, pain-killer and other odd acts to relieve the dissonance.

However there is a minority of people who practice ways to dissolve the dissonance without the associated baggage of evil elements to themselves and others, e.g. the Buddhists who practice Buddhism-proper and others pacifist believers.