Do people know why they believe in what they believe in?

While there are a ton of rational people out there that follow the news, make decisions, and think about various political issues of the day and come to their own conclusions by reading the bills themselves, etc, and what not. I think there are an equally large amount of people that don't know why they believe what they believe in.

They have the free will to watch television - and they tend to agree with the hosts, or, otherwise they wouldn't be watching them. But they don't use this free will to question what they are told from their radio hosts, or television hosts. I think that it's this inherent problem in society today- that people treat people who are skeptical of the body of politics as deluded freaks- that is a major problem in society. I believe these people don't use their free will to go even further, and, instead relegate their discussions only to political talking points that they hear about from the pundits they watch.

In our society people like to think that we cherish people who ask questions. But a lot of the time there is a majority view and there is a minority view, and, people tend to make an outcast of the minority view. There is often a majority minority view (I know that sounds kind of funny) that gets a lot of attention, but, the genuine minority views don't get heard. So then, I think that most of the people believe in what they believe because they'll have heard the majority views or the majority minority view- and they think that they've come to these conclusions on their own, but in reality other people have thought for them and they gave their free will up to someone else, and let other people manipulate their will for them.

Do these people even know why they believe in what they believe in? How long will it take before people suddenly start to realize how just pervasive media influence really is on everyone? You see it in the corporatist media all the time how the media doesn't really have as big of influence on anyone else, and, people come to their decisions themselves, but what if it were found out that the media really did have that much of an influence on people? Well, we do know that the media influences people greatly- so denying that would be a little silly... the question is to what extent it influences others...

I think that people ought to think about how much media has influenced them. But a lot of people forget that they're digital consumers in a media age- so they still act like they used to before when we only had television and we didn't have the internet.

Do you think that most people are even aware of this? I really am not quite so sure myself- if people are aware how much they are affected by the spin of the corporate media.

***If this is in the wrong forum, mods, please move it to another one***

People are just animals. And what do all animals do ...

Born, mimic, try to breed and then die. Beliefs are usually only a part of the mimicking process. Occasionally someone will break ranks and come up with a new idea, invention etc...

But most people will die never really changing anything or doing anything original. They lack the random genetic mutation that allows for it. Hard for people to admit, because ego gets in the way, but it is the truth of the matter.

the world is run by psychopaths! thats the best theory out there

some people are just born this way and they use their "skills" to manipulate people, to play "THE SIMS" in real life; they dont feel anything;

thats why we have a guy like Obama, a completely liar in the presidency of US, religions, industry killing new tech to not lose money, controlled press, attempts to control the internet, bankers who cant get enough money, billionaires trying to become trillionares, people behind CIA or whatever creating illegal wars, sending soldiers to rape other people and destroy cultures

they do that because they dont feel anything, this is not about aliens, not about secret society, this is about DNA

and off course, about your thread: they own the media too, I mean, its clear, media is a business, it needs investors, it needs $, and these guys provide that, so they can blacklist whatever they want, thats why INTERNET is the last hope for this information war

besides, killing is easy when you do see faces and you dont have to dig graves

repeating, there is no Illuminati, there is no freaking aliens with human skin clothes, they are just mistakes in the DNA recombination ...



[edit on 22/6/10 by Faiol]

Beliefs depend on which things take root in one's consciousness [subconsciousness?].

'Reality' is what has rooted so deep & long it becomes indistinguishable from one's consciousness [again subconscious?].

[edit on 22-6-2010 by slank]

Most people simply consume the agreed upon reality that is created through; education, mass media, authority figures, mum and dad, everyone else.

To reject the agreed upon reality is to have a chance to see things as they are; however - you are automatically a lunatic for rejecting 'reality'.

This civilization is an illusion; but all 'reality' is an illusion - only by not believing anything can someone 'understand' - which by my personal definition is to be without any belief, and to accept everything as being unknown.

It's up to us how much we introspect and how much we steep ourselves in denial. Very few people question their own beliefs much ("Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so." - Bertrand Russell). But even the most neurotic, angsty introspector, no matter how sincere, will be assuming something they don't realize.

For whatever reason, gross ignorance is part of the hand we've all been dealt on this planet and we all have to come to terms somehow with the limits of our abilities, both physical and mental. Even so, you shouldn't stop pushing yourself at whatever pace you can sustain to widen the circle of light.

reply to post by Amagnon


I would agree that a lot of reality is an illusion- but I am not quite so sure that reality itself is an illusion. If it is- it is one gigantic illusion and we're all living in it so we should make the best of it.

But as to what you say- so you think that people feel more inclined to accept authority figures because they talk about what reality is to them, and, these people think that if you deny these authority figures that we so often see on the MSM and everywhere- that you must be crazy for having an independent thought?

I think it stems from a much deeper problem. In school we're all taught to appeal to authority. We're told that they know the material and information the best. Of course we know deep down inside that that's not really true, and, they don't always know what's best but people have been indoctrinated to do so.

Why is it that some people like ourselves are able to step out of this false authority paradigm, and, are able to see these authority figures for the fallible people they really are- and others aren't?

[edit on 22-6-2010 by Frankidealist35]

Those types of people are the ones who have never been asked why they believe the things they do.

I have removed racists and bigoted people from this world by simply asking them "why?"

You ask them how they feel about something, they rattle off 90mph. It's all information they've been fed since childhood. When you make them consciously think about their beliefs, their replies tend to be less rushed. If you can get their speed of speech to stay below the "memorized" level, then you have freed them. Sheeple never question people in distinguished positions. Enlightened people scrutinize everything, and the established more. The Awakening is not a cosmic event.

As somebody that has studied Philosophy, I know the feeling of wanting to question anything and everything. I often find myself talking about things or mentioning things that other people do not find noteworthy or relevant. Most of the time, when I try to ask them why they believe in certain ideas they respond with a simple "because I just do". If I try to make them elaborate on the why, they just say "Who cares? What difference does it make?"

I don't think most people understand why they believe in the things they do. Their attention is so focussed on other stuff that they don't stop to think about why they take part in behaviour that expresses a belief of which they have never had direct experience in confirming.

There is no point trying to analyse every minute of your life and question your belief in every single action you take part in - you will probably go insane doing this. I have learnt to just bite my tongue and accept that some beliefs are best left unquestioned with most people. I only encourage them to scrutinise their beliefs when I know they are taking part in harmful behaviour when expressing that belief.

[edit on 22/6/2010 by Dark Ghost]

WHY people believe in the things they do?

I believe it has to do with gathered data/experience over a period of time.


This data/experience that comes into the mind CAN(doesn't always) influence how a person perceives NEWER information.


This comes off as "preference" or "affinity".

We always, on top of everything else, retain the ability to make sudden changes in our belief systems. Based on what? I call it a conscious response to perceptively clustered information.

Your mind will become aware of an inconsistency and make an immediate "check belief system" command.



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This tells us that are paths are somewhat DECIDED.

Taking the example of a STERILE specimen that never acknowledges they could be manipulated; you could fundamentally direct their path in life if you controlled all the modifiers around them.

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The equation I like to think of is n = x

N, being our inner perception and experiences.

X, being the environment outside of that.

They are equal in that if you manipulate the X, you can manipulate the N, and vice-versa.

Isn't that interesting? Yes, it does mean that our paths COULD be predetermined to some extent.

However, we always retain the ability to make sudden changes in our character. Thus, we can willingly manipulate the value of N.

In this sense, the only way to know all things is to build some sort of computational unit that would calculate every possible outcome.

Which would leave you with a massive spectrum of possibilities. You would only know which outcome to pinpoint practically the instant it comes to being.

Most people accept the world around them for a couple of reasons

1) It is all they know.

This might seem simplistic to those of us here, but for the masses it is law. To question what they are told is to shake up a situation they feel they have a 'pretty good bead on'.

For those who never question things it is a catastrophic event to have thier comfort zone disrupted. Imagine for a second someone who has never questioned their world suddenly realizing that it is fake...given the plushy world of everyone is ok, everyone gets to play that most live in that is like pulling the rug out from underneath them: they fall backwards uncontrollably and get hurt.

Most people can't 'think out of the box' because they don't know they are in a box to begin with.

2) Preoccupation

Who really cares if the politicians are lying when the mortgage needs to be paid. Does it really matter what the truth is when the fridge is running low?

The fact of life in the modern world is debt. Most people are struggling to simply maintain what they have because they are busy living lives that look good; there is no time to worry about anything else

3) It is what is expected of them.

Even more powerful is the need to fit in. Look around...fifty years ago the world was full of people with strong/controversial opinions.

Not anymore.

Don't rock the boat is our current mantra, suck it up is a close second. To voice a different opinion is to open one's self to criticism, perhaps even ridicule.

Can't have that.

People will follow because it is easier then standing alone. We have been societally engineered over the last few decades to accept the herd mentality...anything else will cause others to question us in the cruelest ways WE can imagine.

Better to be quiet and march along then risk our worst fears.

Sick, but brilliant.



[edit on 23-6-2010 by [davinci]]

Originally posted by PayMeh
You ask them how they feel about something, they rattle off 90mph. It's all information they've been fed since childhood. When you make them consciously think about their beliefs, their replies tend to be less rushed.

I strongly agree with you PayMeh - it is the conscious act of analyzing your own beliefs and justifying them that introduces doubt - doubt, I feel, is the currency of understanding.

Usually people will say things like; "everyone knows that", or "thats basic history" or "its a scientific fact" - of course, there are no facts - and most of the things people 'know' were simply told to them by other people, or they learned it in school or from television.

1+1 implies 2 - and we might agree that in most cases 2 is a good approximation, but it is not a 'fact' that 1+1=2. We are limited by our own capacity to understand, and the limits of our perception.
For example - I go to the shop and buy an apple, then just after I order, I change my mind and decide I will have one more; 1+1 .. on arriving home I eat one apple, but the other apple is rotten - it can't be eaten. So, 1+1=1 - simply because I cannot see through the surface of the apple to discern its true nature - ie. I don't know the difference between 1 and 0, because of my limited senses.