My Position on Superstition

In a project I presented on the matter of Superstition in the novel The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain, I expressed my new found thoughts of superstition, and what I now thought of it as. Before I read that book, I was very superstitious, and it would be ridiculous to go explaining in what ways that I was, so I'll get to my point.

The following was a spoken portion I included with my project examining how superstition impacts our contemporary life.
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In modern life, superstition is very common. Knocking on wood, crossing your fingers, and simply saying “good luck”, are all examples of the belief that a person’s life is being decided by a supernatural force.

But superstition is very real for most people, and they have logical reason to believe it. If you think you have bad luck, you won’t try to make it better, you just accept the fact that bad things will happen to you because of something you may have done. The belief that you cannot change this fate prevents you from further altering the outcome of your future, thus making it a truth. This is also true for good luck scenarios. When you succeed you accredit the happenings to your good luck, and eliminating the option that maybe you might’ve been the one influencing the “luck” all along.

Superstitious beliefs destroy free will of men, and literally bring enslavement on themselves. With the belief that powers outside your control create your life, you can never intervene to decide what is best for you and to see what you truly desire unfold.

Because of this contemporary issue, people condemn their lives to shame and failure, when there is a way to overcome it. To quote Mark Twain himself: “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure to follow.” As relating to this, confidence in yourself, and your right to decide your fate, liberates you from a life outside your control.
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Any comments or inclusions to my statement will be accepted. I understand that I made a general statement to a large subject, and I will be glad to elaborate upon further requests.


[edit on 27-11-2005 by E_Pluribus_Unum]

[edit on 27-11-2005 by E_Pluribus_Unum]

[edit on 27-11-2005 by E_Pluribus_Unum]

Very interesting thoughts on superstition Pluribus, but I propose a few thoughts of my own.

• How did you consider yourself superstitous? Give some examples.
  
• What changed your view on superstition from Huck finn?
  
• How would you define superstition?
  
• What is free will?
  
• What defines free will?
  
• Do you believe free will can change your life fate?
  
• Do you believe in a supreme entity that controls your life?
  

Very interesting subject, can't wait for your replies.


[edit on 013030p://000 by LiquidationOfDiscrepancy]

I think that as far as superstitions go, and good luck charms etc, these are because they were the first things to have helped u when u had bad luck...

I'll explain further.

When 4 instance you are ill, you take medicine and it makes u better. Therefore you have 100% confidence that that made u better and u trust ot to do so in the future.

Good luck charms i believe are exactly the same. You could be experiencing bad luck / misfortune, and the first item or series of events that changes your luck you will remember, therefore always doing this in the future. ( Same as medicine - because u have 100% trust it will help you again in the future should u need it ).

Even though it might not, it has implanted itself in your subconcious

Originally posted by LiquidationOfDiscrepancy
Very interesting thoughts on superstition Pluribus, but I propose a few thoughts of my own.

• How did you consider yourself superstitous? Give some examples.
  
• What changed your view on superstition from Huck finn?
  
• How would you define superstition?
  
• What is free will?
  
• What defines free will?
  
• Do you believe free will can change your life fate?
  
• Do you believe in a supreme entity that controls your life?
  

Very interesting subject, can't wait for your replies.


[edit on 013030p://000 by LiquidationOfDiscrepancy]

*First off I considered myself superstitious, because I was always worried about getting bad luck. I would always pick pennies headsup, knock on wood, and worry that if I accidentally messed up my life would be ruined with bad luck.

*Huck Finn showed me how RIDICULOUS superstition was, whether it be the haunted barrel that followed the raft passengers, or the outlandish stands Jim had on superstition (for example talking to a hairball to reveal the future, yes, a HAIRBALL) Mark Twain being a humorist, did a very good job at expressing a satiracal view of humanity in many views, but superstition being the matter I seemed more concerned with, as it was a problem I immediately recognized.

*Superstition: irrational ways of thinking people acquire from the ignorant belief and fear that their own life is outside of their own control. I would also define superstition as an excuse for failure.

*Free will is the ability to choose your destiny, to decide what happens to you, and not to have it decided by someone else.

*What defines free will? A very complicated question, but your ability to go against your innate decisive actions, such as instinct, and choose what you feel is right. For example, most people would remove their hand from a burning stove as an instinct, but with freewill you can leave your hand on that stove til' your hand becomes soup! :p

*Fate is a touchy subject, and ultimately deals with ones personal views of how life works. Personally I think that the idea of fate is an excuse for what someone can achieve, and very much so limits our own success. Fate is just another factor that is hindering human progress.

*Yes I do believe in that supreme entity. That entity is YOU!

[edit on 27-11-2005 by E_Pluribus_Unum]

Originally posted by Arawn
I think that as far as superstitions go, and good luck charms etc, these are because they were the first things to have helped u when u had bad luck...

I'll explain further.

When 4 instance you are ill, you take medicine and it makes u better. Therefore you have 100% confidence that that made u better and u trust ot to do so in the future.

Good luck charms i believe are exactly the same. You could be experiencing bad luck / misfortune, and the first item or series of events that changes your luck you will remember, therefore always doing this in the future. ( Same as medicine - because u have 100% trust it will help you again in the future should u need it ).

Even though it might not, it has implanted itself in your subconcious

The human mind is a powerful thing, and I agree, charms DO influence this whole idea of luck.

French Mathematician Rene Descartes said: "I think, therefore I am"

This means that we literally are what we think. If we think we are lucky, we are lucky.

But the fact still stays the same, when we want to make decisions for our own selves, it becomes extremely difficult to do so when we believe that our own life is outside our control. If we think that our life is decided by us, it is, thus making us a god in a sense that we are responsible for what happens to us, and the matters we create. Giving ourselves this trait gives us the unwavering ability to take action, which is absolutely necessary in an ever growing universe that surrounds us.

If anyone would like to share their own views of superstition, or possibly add on to what I have said, and what others have mentioned, please do not hesitate to fill my thread with replies.

Please people! Not all at once!