I think I found an example of Belief in Belief that makes sense to me. The other day I met someone and they talked about how World War 3 would take place by next October. They didn’t really go into details, and I didn’t press for details, but the basic source of reasoning was the Book of Revelations.
If I had pressed for information I am sure all sorts of soft reasons would be produced about the current state of international affairs and blah, blah, blah. If I asked if America would be invaded and if there would be terrible destruction the answer would probably be, “Yes.” Yet I am positive that they are doing nothing to prepare for invasion and won’t be surprised in the slightest when October rolls around with no World War. World War 3 will still be happening “soon” and “soon” is still 18 months out. There won’t be any change in behavior, no worries about the botched prediction, no wondering if perhaps the Book of Revelations isn’t the best source material.
This is certainly a Belief in Belief. They really do think they believe it. If I asked them if they believed in an October ’11 WW3, they would say, “Yes.” But there is no conviction and no action as a result of this belief. So… do they really believe?
I think I found an example of Belief in Belief that makes sense to me. The other day I met someone and they talked about how World War 3 would take place by next October. They didn’t really go into details, and I didn’t press for details, but the basic source of reasoning was the Book of Revelations.
If I had pressed for information I am sure all sorts of soft reasons would be produced about the current state of international affairs and blah, blah, blah. If I asked if America would be invaded and if there would be terrible destruction the answer would probably be, “Yes.” Yet I am positive that they are doing nothing to prepare for invasion and won’t be surprised in the slightest when October rolls around with no World War. World War 3 will still be happening “soon” and “soon” is still 18 months out. There won’t be any change in behavior, no worries about the botched prediction, no wondering if perhaps the Book of Revelations isn’t the best source material.
This is certainly a Belief in Belief. They really do think they believe it. If I asked them if they believed in an October ’11 WW3, they would say, “Yes.” But there is no conviction and no action as a result of this belief. So… do they really believe?
I think now I understand.