There are two kinds of beliefs, those that can be affirmed individually (true independently of what others do) and those that depend on others acting as if they believe the same thing. They are, in other words, agreements. One should be careful not to conflate the two.
What you describe as “neutrality” to me seems to be a particular way of framing institutional forbearance and similar terms of cooperation in the face of the possibility of unrestrained competition and mutual destruction. When agreements collapse, it is not because these terms were unworkable (except for in the trivial sense that, well, they weren’t invulnerable to gaming and do on) but because cooperation between humans can always break down.
Right. Some such agreements are often called social contracts. One catch is that a person born into them may not understand their historical origin or practical utility, much less agree with them.
There are two kinds of beliefs, those that can be affirmed individually (true independently of what others do) and those that depend on others acting as if they believe the same thing. They are, in other words, agreements. One should be careful not to conflate the two.
What you describe as “neutrality” to me seems to be a particular way of framing institutional forbearance and similar terms of cooperation in the face of the possibility of unrestrained competition and mutual destruction. When agreements collapse, it is not because these terms were unworkable (except for in the trivial sense that, well, they weren’t invulnerable to gaming and do on) but because cooperation between humans can always break down.
Right. Some such agreements are often called social contracts. One catch is that a person born into them may not understand their historical origin or practical utility, much less agree with them.