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Belief a Conscious Choice?

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  • Paprika
    replied
    Originally posted by rstrats View Post
    ?"

    For the purpose of this topic I define belief as a conviction, without any doubt, that someone or something does or doesn't exist or that a certain proposition is or isn't true.
    Most of my beliefs aren't held with absolute certainty, so I find your conception of 'belief' unrealistic.

    Leave a comment:


  • rstrats
    replied
    Sparko,

    re: "I don't see the problem with making a conscious choice to believe something."

    Then assuming you don't already have a belief in Leprechauns, you should have no trouble in demonstrating your ability as requested in the OP.

    Leave a comment:


  • Sparko
    replied
    Well you consider the evidence for and against something, then you decide whether to believe it or not. Everyone does it.

    Think of a court of law. You hear evidence for someone being guilty and evidence for them being innocent. Then the jury weighs the evidence to make a decision.

    I don't see the problem with making a conscious choice to believe something. Are you saying that you just believe by osmosis or something? You just sit there and all of a sudden you believe it for no apparent reason?

    Leave a comment:


  • rstrats
    replied
    Littlejoe,

    re: "A conscious choice most often involves research and weighing between two or more choices..."

    That is correct. In order for something to be considered a choice, there must be at least two things to select from, and each one of the things has to be able to be selected.

    Leave a comment:


  • rstrats
    replied
    Paprika,

    re: "What do you mean by belief?"

    For the purpose of this topic I define belief as a conviction, without any doubt, that someone or something does or doesn't exist or that a certain proposition is or isn't true.

    Leave a comment:


  • Littlejoe
    replied
    A conscious choice most often involves research and weighing between two or more choices to decide which one is most likely/probable given the evidence. Occasionally, there may be an epiphany event that pushes someone one way or the other...

    Leave a comment:


  • Paprika
    replied
    What do you mean by belief? Is it assent to propositions?

    Leave a comment:


  • rstrats
    started a topic Belief a Conscious Choice?

    Belief a Conscious Choice?

    A number of folks on these boards are saying or at least implying that they can consciously choose to believe things. If you are one of them, perhaps you might help me. I have never been able to consciously choose any of the beliefs that I have and I would like to be able to do that. If you think that you can consciously choose to believe things, I wonder if you might explain how you do it. What do you do at the last moment to instantly change your one state of belief to another? What is it that you do that would allow you to say, "OK, at this moment I have a lack of belief that 'x' exists or is true, but I choose to believe that 'x' exists or is true and now instantly at this new moment I do believe that 'x' exists or is true"?

    Maybe you could use something like leprechauns to demonstrate your technique. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a leprechaun is "a fairy peculiar to Ireland, who appeared in the form of an old man of minute stature, wearing a cocked hat and a leather apron" and who hides his gold at the end of the rainbow and if captured has to grant three wishes. So, assuming that you don't already have a belief in them, how about right now, while you are reading this, choose to believe - be convinced without a doubt - that they exist. Now that you believe in leprechauns, my question is, how did you do it? How did you make the instantaneous transition from lack of belief to belief?

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