6Groundlessbeliefs.docx

6Groundlessbeliefs.docx

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6Groundlessbeliefs

6.-Groundless-beliefs

6.GroundlessBeliefs

Infuturewearegoingtofollowthepractice----untilitbecomeahabit----ofclassifyingpropositionsaccordingtotheirgrounds.Ofeverystatementwecomeacross,weshallask:

"HOWDOWEKONWTHAT?

WHATREASONHAVEWEFORBELIEVINGTHAT？

ONWHATGROUNGISTHATSTATEMENTBASED?

"Probablyweshallbeastonishedatthenumberofpropositionsmetwithineverydaylifewhichweshallfinditnecessarytoclassasgroundless.Theyrestuponmeretradition,oronsomebody’sbareassertionunsupportedbyevenashadowofproof......

Itmaybeabeliefwhichweoriginallyacceptedasaresultofsimple"suggestion"andwehavecontinuedtoholditeversince.Ithasnowbecomeoneofourregularhabits

Ofcoursewedonotcease,whenweceasetobechildren,toadoptnewbeliefsonmeresuggestion.Wecontinuedoingit,moreorlessunconsciouslyallourlives:

hence,totakeonlythemoststrikingexamples,theenormousinfluenceofnewspapersandtheeffectivenessofskilfuladvertising.Muchofwhatpassesassuchisnot,strictly,thinkingatall.Itisthemere“parroting”ofideaspickedupbychanceandadoptedasourownwithoutquestion.Mostpeople,mostofthetime,aremereparrots.Butasweleavechildhood,wetendtoacceptonlysuchnewideasasfitinwiththeideaswealreadyhold;andallconflictingideasseemtous“obviously”absurd.

Propositionsthatareacceptedsimplybecause“everybodysaysso,”mustbeclassedunderthesameheading.Thedogmamaynotbethatofanyparticularindividual:

itmaybeadogmaticstatementwhichhasbeenpassedfromonepersontoanother,fromgenerationtogeneration,perhapsforhundreds---perhapsforthousands---ofyears.Itmaybepartofthetraditionalbeliefofthepeopleortherace.Inthatcase,itispartofoursocialinheritancefromsomeperiodinthepast.Butweshouldfullyfacethefactthatbeliefswhicharemerelyinheritedfromthepastmusthaveoriginatedatatimewhenmenknewmuchlessthantheyknowtoday.Sothefactabeliefis“old”isnoargumentinitsfavour.

Weneedespeciallytobeonourguardwhenwecomeacrosspropositionswhichseemtobe“obviously”true.

Whenwefindourselvesentertaininganopinionaboutwhichthereisafeelingthateventoenquireintoitwouldbeabsurd,unnecessary,undesirable,orwicked---wemayknowthatthatopinionisanon-rationalone.

Whenwearetemptedtosaythatanygeneraltruthisso“obvious”thatitwouldbeabsurdeventoquestionit,weshouldrememberthatthewholehistoryofthedevelopmentofhumanthoughthasbeenfullofcasesofsuch“obvioustruths”breakingdownwhenexaminedinthelightofincreasingknowledgeandreason.Forinstance,foragesnothingcouldhaveseemedmoreobvious,moreutterlybeyondquestionthanthepropositionthatslaverywasnatural,reasonable,necessary,andright.Somekindsofmenwere“obviously”“slavesbynature.”Todoubtitwasimpossible.

Againformorethantwothousandsyears,itwas“impossibletoconceive”theplanetsasmovinginpathsotherthancircles.Thecirclewas“obviously”theperfectfigure;andsoitwas“natural”and“inevitable”tosupposethattheplanetsmovedincircles.Theage-longstruggleofthegreatestintellectsintheworldtoshakeoffthatassumptionisoneofthemarvelsofhistory.

Itwasformerly“obvious”thattheheart---andnotthebrain---wastheorganofconsciousness.Tomostpeopletodayitseemsequally“obvious”thatwethinkwithourbrains.Manymodernpersonsfinditverydifficulttocreditthefactthatmencaneverhavesupposedotherwise.Yet---theydid.

Thattheearthmustbeflat,formerlyseemedsoobviousandself-evidentthattheverysuggestionofanyotherpossibilitywouldhavebeen---andwas---regardedasajoke.

Itwasfortwothousandyears“takenforgranted”as“obvious”thataheavyweightmustfallfasterthanalightone.Anassumedordogmaticpropositionwhichhadbeenuniversallyacceptedas“obvious”;andwhich,whenchallenged,wassupportedbyreferencetoadogmaofAristotle.UntilGalileoactuallydemonstratedthecontrary（seeNoets5onp173）,nothingcouldhaveseemedmorebeyondpossibilityordoubt.

Propositionswhichareacceptedblindly,withoutquestiononthegroundsofmereassumptionordogma,needtobefranklyrecognizedassuch.Progressinhumanthoughtseemstoconsistmainlyingettingridofsuchideas.

Otherbeliefsareheldthroughself-interest.Modernpsychologyleavesusnoroomfordoubtonthispoint.Weadoptandclingtosomebeliefsbecause---orpartlybecause---it“pays”ustodoso.Butasarule,thepersonconcernedisaboutthelastpersonintheworldtobeabletorecognizethisinhimself.Indeed,hewouldprobablybehighlyindignantiftoldofwhatanyonefamiliarwithmodernpsychologycanrecognizesoplainly.Itwouldbequitewrongtoattributeallopinions---evenpoliticalopinions---toself-interest.Butitwouldbeequallywrongtodenythatthisisonepotentfactor.

“Self-interest”istobeunderstoodfirstintheordinarysense,asreferringtoaman’swayofearninghislivelihoodandacquiringwealth.Butwemayextendthetermtocoveralsohisinterestinsocialposition;popularitywithhisfellows;therespectandgoodwillofthosewhoserespectandgoodwillhevalues.Itcovershisinterestinhisowncareer;inwhateverprestigeheenjoysasoneoftheleaders---oratleastasavaluedsupporter---ofsomemovementorinstitution,somereligiousbody,someotherkindofsocietyorgroup.Thereismanyamanwhoisunconsciouslycompelledtoclingtoabeliefbecauseheisa“somebody”insomecircle---andifheweretoabandonthatbelief,hewouldfindhimselfnobodyatall.

Puttingitbroadly,weshouldalwayssuspectanyofouropinionswhenwerecognizethatourhappinessdepends,directlyorindirectly,uponourcontinuingtoholdthem---whenwemightloseanything,materialorotherwise,bychangingouropinion.

Somewhatsimilaristheacceptanceofanopinionthroughthedesire---probablynotrecognizedbythepersonconcerned---tojustifyhisownnature,hisownposition,orhisownbehaviour.Thecowardcansoeasilyadoptaphilosophywhichseemstojustifycowardice---though,ofcourse,“cowardice”isnotthenamehegivesit!

Thelazyandbunglingpersoncanadoptasetofopinionswhichprovetohissatisfactionthat“thegrapesaresour”---the“grapes”beingtherewardsthatmoreenergeticandcompetentmencanwin.

Manygroundlessopinionsareheldthroughsentimentalassociations.Thethoughtisassociatedwithmemories---pleasantorunpleasantasthecasemaybe---ofparticularpersonswhoheldsimilaropinions.Itisfoundthatmanyamanwhoinchildhoodwashostiletohisfather,inafterlifeisalwaysprejudicedagainstwhateveropinionshisfatherusedtoexpress.Andconverselyinthecaseofonewhohaspleasantrecollectionsofhisfather,hismother,ateacherperhaps,orsomeotherpersonwhoplayedabigpartinhisearlylife.

Inadultlife,aswehaveoftenobserved,abitterquarrelmaychangeaman’sopinionentirely.Antagonismtoamanusuallyproducessomeantagonismtohisopinions;andthebitternessfeltagainstthemanusuallyspreadstotheideaforwhichhestands.Whatkeensatisfactionwefindinbelittlingtheopinions,orattackingtheopinions,ofsomebodyofwhomwearejealous,orofsomebodyagainstwhomwebearagrudge!

But,ontheotherhand,itisequallytruethatfriendlyfeelingstoamanhaveaneffectindisposingustofeelfriendlytohisviews.

OtheropinionsagainaredeterminedbywhatwemaybestcalledFashion.Totakeoneexample:

howlargelyouropinionsonthemeritsofcertainauthors,orpoets,orcomposers,aredictatedmerelybyfashion!

Buttheeffectoffashionisverymuchwiderthanthat:

wetraceitalmosteverywhere,ineveryfieldofthought.Wetendverystronglytofeelandtobelieveasothersarefeelingandbelieving.Notallothers,perhaps;butothersofourownset.

Butwedonot,asarule,continueallourliveschangingoursentimentsandopinionswitheverychangeoffashion.Soonerorlaterourmindsbecomefixed.Manyamanholdshisopinionstoday---becausetheyhappenedtobeinfashionten,twenty,thirty,forty,orfiftyyearsago.

Onceanopinionisaccepted,whateverbethecauseofitsacceptance,ithasastrongtendencytopersist.Everytimewethinkalongaparticularthought-pattern,makesiteasierforustothinkthesamewayagain.Itisquitelegitimatetospeakof“habits”ofthought.The“brainpath”becomessowellworn;thepatternofbrain-centresbecomessowellconnectedupbycontinualuse,thatnervecurrentfindsarouteofpracticallynoresistance,andsoitalwaystakesalmostexactlythesamecourse.

Weallknowthepersonwhohasastringofstockanecdotes.Weallknowtoothepersonwhohascertainstockargumentsandopinionswhichheexpresses,almostinthesamewords,wheneverhereceivesthe“cue.”Weallknowmenandwomenwhosemindsworklikegramophones.Putthemontothe“record”aboutthegoodolddays;oraboutprohibition禁酒令（Seenote7onP173）;oraboutthewickedcapitalist;oraboutthelazyandimprovidentworkers;oraboutthecountrygoingtothedogs;oraboutthemoderngirl;orsomelong,tediousanecdoteaboutwhatIsaidtohim,andwhathesaidtome,andIsaid…andhesaid…andthenItoldhimstraight…!

Allwehavetodoistostarthimoff---andnothingonearthcanstophim---untilthe“record”hasrunout!

Thesamethingistrueofopinionsandbeliefsofallkindsof.Aftertheyhavebeenheldacertainlengthoftime,theybecome,asitwere,sostampedin（盖上了烙印）bycontinualusethatitisalmostimpossible