What People Believe

I got suckered into a philosophical discussion about the meaning of life. I say "suckered" because this is one of those topics I choose to avoid ...I ponder the subject quite often, but avoid general discussion of the matter.

When it comes to "what people believe", different people believe different things for all kinds of different reasons. And since, as I believe, there are no absolute truths -- at least not at our level of human perception -- there are as many different realities as there are people ...granted, many people share similar, if not the same reality. They believe what they've been told is so; and unless they have reason to challenge it, they continue to believe what their parents / family / friends believe. And since they believe what they believe to be absolute, any discussion of alternative truths is bound to be, at the very least, confrontational. Which is why I avoid this type of discussion.

Human beings are [for the most part] social animals, and have a tribal mentality. Even in our global community, many, if not most, people belong to and identify with one or more groups, the nature of those groups being (among other things) ethnic, religious, economical, geographical, sexual, intellectual, or gender.

The benefit of membership in such a group is the support of the group and all its members, however the group as an entity imposes its own specific boundaries. It dictates what its members are to think and how they are to behave. Violating these protocols means running the risk of incurring the wrath of the group if not outright ostracization. And for many people -- most people -- being "alone" is the greatest of all fears ...being alone and having to make decisions for yourself, being responsible for your own happiness, defining your own reality, and creating your own purpose. So they (the possible dissidents) squelch their queries and suppress their oppositions in order to retain the security of group membership.

The "total" individual is usually anti-social, a loner, a social outcast, or a sociopath, not something anyone really aspires to be, or a label one chooses to wear, but these individuals are not constricted by social norms or group dynamics and are free to "think outside the box". Most of us, despite our group affiliations, do have aspects of individuality, where our thoughts are unique and different from the accepted "norm". The extent to which we embrace these differences is the measure of our individuality.

So many of the great discoveries have come, not from pursuing conventional beliefs, but from abandoning those beliefs and embarking on a completely different path. At the time these new concepts, (the earth revolving around the sun ... the world being spherical ... unseen microbes being the cause of infection), were considered crazy, obscene, and even blasphemous, and were met with much opposition and persecution. But these "different" thinkers had the convictions of [and held true to] their beliefs.

The true nature of reality is so much more than our limited concepts of time and space. Thought, sentience, and consciousness are so much more than just electrical impulses traversing synapses. Reality [is] perception, however, the true nature of reality is imperceptible at our current state of evolution. But some sort of perception is necessary. Although that perception is constantly changing as we evolve and acquire more information, we have to, at any given point in time, arrive at some momentary construct in order to maintain sanity.I am, however, amazed that so many [intelligent] people on the planet hold fast to the concept of [some form of] a benevolent, omniscient anthropomorphic deity, who, despite our evolution, is not very far removed from the precepts of the [ancient] Greeks and Romans. Yes, this was the question that "suckered" me into that discussion: "Do you believe in God?"


Quote of the Week: "Man prefers to believe what man prefers to be true."