Reply #35: Belief

[Az]

Our minds are not rational things. Our ancestors had to accept things before they understood them. The caveman pondering the nature of the sabertooth tiger made a tasty meal while the guy that turned and ran lived. Our brains are wired to beleive things. Logic and reason were developed later as tools we can use to help us make sense of an increasingly complex society we find ourself in.

Thus belief comes naturally to our minds. Systems of belief can take hold that may not directly correlate to reality but function socially. They may even be a benefit to society by building stronger ties. Evolution does not care about accuracy. Only about what survives.

However as our society taps into more complex issues our reliance on reason and logic rise with it. These tool conflict with some learned belief systems. As the complexity of the society increases and the danger our learned technology poses our need to know the truth of things grows with it.

Due to the shifting nature of our reliance on belief to being able to determine the truth for ourselves there is a conflict within the society. Both sides see the other as a danger. The believers see the skeptics as a threat to the society. They muddle and corrupt the way we live. The skeptics see the believers mired in antiquated systems that put brakes on any true understanding of the universe.