LorenzoP wrote:
My point being there is no value in holding a true (or false) belief if maintaining that belief does not mechanically impact one's life. But how one defines 'impact' can be squishy - even if a person does not require belief in a spherical earth (belief in a flat earth suffices) - having a belief in a spherical earth enriches one's appreciation of the planet or etc, and thus be a 'positive' belief.
However that opens up the question - If one holds a false belief that enriches one's appreciation or quality of life - is that a 'positive'. Is thast desireable? For example if I believed in angels, if I believed I had a guardian angel. Or if I received comfort believing that the dove outside my window was my dead grandmother visiting me.
An example of a positive false belief - if I believed and treated all firearms as if they were loaded - such a belief has better outcomes then if I believed and treated all firearms as if they are unloaded (as most are). For example, I am sitting around a table, someone picks up a pistol, confirms its unloaded, returns it to the table . . . person B picks up pistol, they will also confirm pistol is unloaded ,and so on . . . and no one will point that pistol at another individual even though all evidence confirms the pistol is not loaded.
As long as you don't act on your false beliefs, your right it doesn't matter. But then if your not acting / making a decision on something ever, is there value in holding that belief at all. Believe all guns are loaded might get you in a heap of trouble if someone comes to attack you and you pick up the pistol instead of the bat cause hey the guns loaded by the time you find out its not you start wishing you grabbed the bat to beat them off with.
If you believed you had a guardian angel so you step in front of a bus.. that could hold some value.
Lots of people believe falsely that others love or like them.. often with little or no effect, sometimes with devastating effect.
Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.