The beginning of chapter 1 introduces a definition for the word “belief” which is very specific and not close to the common everyday meaning. The concept you’re talking about has no specific intuitive word that would be better to use, so “belief” is as good as any (IMHO) but I think you need to spend the first page or two examining what you mean by “belief” and relating your concept to existing concepts in neuroscience and psychology.
In the real world, understanding of the universe changes incrementally. So starting out by telling the reader that everyone else is wrong and you have the “true” answers is bound to make people stop reading. In order to sell a book to a publisher you have to make some kind of wild claims about the significance of your ideas, but I would write the book first, and leave the wild claims as a last-minute addition to the book cover. (grin)
The concept you’re talking about seems to include the entirety of our apprehension of ourselves and the world. The most common words that I could think of that come close to this idea were:
- feelings —beliefs —understanding —knowledge
In other words: Not memories, but the sense we make of our memories Not sensory input, but the sense we make of the input
For example, the following ideas would be considered to be part of this concept:
- I am bad at math —My math teacher is mean —There is no milk in the fridge —The sun will rise tomorrow —People have the right to privacy − 2+2=4
If you gave these examples to a group of people and asked them to pick one of the four terms I gave, you would probably not get consistent answers about which ones are beliefs, feelings, understanding or knowledge.
Much of our the beliefs that we express are retroactively justified. You may want to read this fascinating book on the nature of consciousness: The Mind is Flat by Nick Chater
The beginning of chapter 1 introduces a definition for the word “belief” which is very specific and not close to the common everyday meaning. The concept you’re talking about has no specific intuitive word that would be better to use, so “belief” is as good as any (IMHO) but I think you need to spend the first page or two examining what you mean by “belief” and relating your concept to existing concepts in neuroscience and psychology.
In the real world, understanding of the universe changes incrementally. So starting out by telling the reader that everyone else is wrong and you have the “true” answers is bound to make people stop reading. In order to sell a book to a publisher you have to make some kind of wild claims about the significance of your ideas, but I would write the book first, and leave the wild claims as a last-minute addition to the book cover. (grin)
The concept you’re talking about seems to include the entirety of our apprehension of ourselves and the world. The most common words that I could think of that come close to this idea were:
- feelings
—beliefs
—understanding
—knowledge
In other words:
Not memories, but the sense we make of our memories
Not sensory input, but the sense we make of the input
For example, the following ideas would be considered to be part of this concept:
- I am bad at math
—My math teacher is mean
—There is no milk in the fridge
—The sun will rise tomorrow
—People have the right to privacy
− 2+2=4
If you gave these examples to a group of people and asked them to pick one of the four terms I gave, you would probably not get consistent answers about which ones are beliefs, feelings, understanding or knowledge.
Much of our the beliefs that we express are retroactively justified. You may want to read this fascinating book on the nature of consciousness: The Mind is Flat by Nick Chater
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/22/mind-is-flat-nick-chater-review-hidden-depths