There are several things to ask about beliefs like this:
Do they make internal sense? (e.g. “What is the fourth dimension?”)
Do they match the sort of evidence that you would expect to have in the case of non-delusion? (e.g. “Do you have any observable physical traits indicating your extraterrestrial origin? Would someone looking into records of your birth find discrepancies in your records indicating forgery?”)
Do they try to defend themselves against testing? (e.g. “Do you expect to illuminate a completely dark room at night by generating light? Would you expect to exist happily in psychological conditions that would harm normal humans by subsisting on aid packages full of love?”)
Do they have explanatory power? (e.g. “Has there, as a matter of historical fact, been a sudden and dramatic reduction in global strife and suffering since the date of your supposed arrival?”)
Do they have a causal history that can be reasonably expected to track with truth across the entire reference class from an outside view? (e.g. “Did you receive your information via private mental revelation or a belief from as long ago as you can remember, similar to the beliefs of people you do consider crazy?”)
Yes. They are drawn from the material at http://lawofone.info/ . The philosophy presented there is internally consistent, to the best of my understanding.
There is no physical evidence. All of the “evidence” is in my head. This is a significant point.
There are a variety of points in the source document which could be interpreted as designed to defend its claims against testing. This is a significant point.
I am not aware of any physically testable predictions that these beliefs make. This is a significant point.
The causal history of these beliefs is that I read the aforementioned document, and eventually decided that it was true, mainly on the basis of the fact that it made sense to my intuition and resonated personally with me. This is a significant point.
Currently reading Law of One. I’m not sure what the mechanism is, but it seems to involve people receiving telepathic messages (from an entity named Ra) and speaking them aloud. I would like to note that I have experienced messages coming into my head, seemingly from outside (either as voices or as an impulse to write), and can even occasionally cause it voluntarily. Their content can be partially unexpected, but it never contains information I could test independently. I consider this an entertaining misbug in my brain, not evidence of an external telepathic entity.
There are several things to ask about beliefs like this:
Do they make internal sense? (e.g. “What is the fourth dimension?”)
Do they match the sort of evidence that you would expect to have in the case of non-delusion? (e.g. “Do you have any observable physical traits indicating your extraterrestrial origin? Would someone looking into records of your birth find discrepancies in your records indicating forgery?”)
Do they try to defend themselves against testing? (e.g. “Do you expect to illuminate a completely dark room at night by generating light? Would you expect to exist happily in psychological conditions that would harm normal humans by subsisting on aid packages full of love?”)
Do they have explanatory power? (e.g. “Has there, as a matter of historical fact, been a sudden and dramatic reduction in global strife and suffering since the date of your supposed arrival?”)
Do they have a causal history that can be reasonably expected to track with truth across the entire reference class from an outside view? (e.g. “Did you receive your information via private mental revelation or a belief from as long ago as you can remember, similar to the beliefs of people you do consider crazy?”)
Hi, Alicorn!
Yes. They are drawn from the material at http://lawofone.info/ . The philosophy presented there is internally consistent, to the best of my understanding.
There is no physical evidence. All of the “evidence” is in my head. This is a significant point.
There are a variety of points in the source document which could be interpreted as designed to defend its claims against testing. This is a significant point.
I am not aware of any physically testable predictions that these beliefs make. This is a significant point.
The causal history of these beliefs is that I read the aforementioned document, and eventually decided that it was true, mainly on the basis of the fact that it made sense to my intuition and resonated personally with me. This is a significant point.
Thanks for asking!
Currently reading Law of One. I’m not sure what the mechanism is, but it seems to involve people receiving telepathic messages (from an entity named Ra) and speaking them aloud. I would like to note that I have experienced messages coming into my head, seemingly from outside (either as voices or as an impulse to write), and can even occasionally cause it voluntarily. Their content can be partially unexpected, but it never contains information I could test independently. I consider this an entertaining misbug in my brain, not evidence of an external telepathic entity.
I understand your point, but it also reminded me of this :-)