Does anyone have a good model of what people in fact do, when they talk about “choosing” a particular belief? At least two possibilities come to mind:
(1) Choosing to act and speak in accordance with a particular belief.
(2) Choosing to “lie” to other parts of one’s mind—to act and speak in accordance with a particular belief internally, so that one’s emotional centers, etc., get at least some of their inputs “as though” one held that belief.
Is “choosing to trust someone” any more compatible with lack of self-deception than “choosing” a particular belief?
How about “choosing to have such-and-such a preference/value”, or “choosing to regard such-and-such a part of myself as ‘the real me, who I should align with’”?
Also, is there a line between self-deception and playing useful tricks on the less rational parts of oneself? An example of a useful trick that doesn’t bother me is visualizing ice cream as full of worms, or otherwise disgusting, if I don’t want to want to eat it. “Chosen beliefs” do bother me in a way the ice cream trick doesn’t—but my best guess is that the difference is just how intelligent/reason-able a portion of oneself one is lying to.
I don’t think there’s one model that covers 1) and 2) like you’re saying. I think two very different mental processes are going on, and we only use the term “belief” for both of them because we’ve committed the fallacy of compression.
That is, “I believe (in) X” can mean either
1) My mental model of reality includes X.
or
2) I affiliate with a group that centers around professing X [so I’ve got a gang watching out for me and if you’re part of it we have a basis for cooperating].
So, I don’t think there’s one answer for your question, because you’re describing two different processes, with different methods and goals. Choosing beliefs type 1) is the process of seeking actual truth, while type 2) is the process of gaining power through group affiliation.
Or maybe Robin_Hanson’s cynicism is rubbing off on me.
Does anyone have a good model of what people in fact do, when they talk about “choosing” a particular belief? At least two possibilities come to mind:
(1) Choosing to act and speak in accordance with a particular belief.
(2) Choosing to “lie” to other parts of one’s mind—to act and speak in accordance with a particular belief internally, so that one’s emotional centers, etc., get at least some of their inputs “as though” one held that belief.
Is “choosing to trust someone” any more compatible with lack of self-deception than “choosing” a particular belief?
How about “choosing to have such-and-such a preference/value”, or “choosing to regard such-and-such a part of myself as ‘the real me, who I should align with’”?
Also, is there a line between self-deception and playing useful tricks on the less rational parts of oneself? An example of a useful trick that doesn’t bother me is visualizing ice cream as full of worms, or otherwise disgusting, if I don’t want to want to eat it. “Chosen beliefs” do bother me in a way the ice cream trick doesn’t—but my best guess is that the difference is just how intelligent/reason-able a portion of oneself one is lying to.
I don’t think there’s one model that covers 1) and 2) like you’re saying. I think two very different mental processes are going on, and we only use the term “belief” for both of them because we’ve committed the fallacy of compression.
That is, “I believe (in) X” can mean either
1) My mental model of reality includes X.
or
2) I affiliate with a group that centers around professing X [so I’ve got a gang watching out for me and if you’re part of it we have a basis for cooperating].
So, I don’t think there’s one answer for your question, because you’re describing two different processes, with different methods and goals. Choosing beliefs type 1) is the process of seeking actual truth, while type 2) is the process of gaining power through group affiliation.
Or maybe Robin_Hanson’s cynicism is rubbing off on me.