I’d like to point out that this post and many of the comments are about a subcategory of beliefs, not beliefs in general. Something like ‘political beliefs’, beliefs that are held because the believer gets pleasure out of holding them. Many other kinds of beliefs ( for example “my car is broken”), are not subject to such issues very frequently.
To torture the metaphor—my highly-decorated veteran soldier in arguments involving this subcategory is questioning the validity of this subcategory. A juror shouldn’t believe someone guilty because they enjoy holding that belief, etc.
I’d like to point out that this post and many of the comments are about a subcategory of beliefs, not beliefs in general. Something like ‘political beliefs’, beliefs that are held because the believer gets pleasure out of holding them. Many other kinds of beliefs ( for example “my car is broken”), are not subject to such issues very frequently.
To torture the metaphor—my highly-decorated veteran soldier in arguments involving this subcategory is questioning the validity of this subcategory. A juror shouldn’t believe someone guilty because they enjoy holding that belief, etc.