I personally will have no strong beliefs about the truth value of their hypothesis if I have too much conflicting evidence. However, I won’t want to put much effort into testing the hypothesis unless my plans depend on it being true or false.
I like how you said this.
The people with whom I was speaking were successful members of society, so they fell into the uncanny valley for me when they started pushing the idea that everyone has their own truth. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that they didn’t quite literally believe that, but didn’t know how to better articulate what they actually believed.
In social situations, I’ve been trying to find a delicate and concise way to get across that, “‘Everyone has their own truth’ is not an experience-constraining belief. Saying it is a marker of empathy—good for you (seriously!). But if I wanted to falsify that belief, I wouldn’t know where to begin. What trade-offs do you think you’re making by saying, ‘Everyone has their own truth’?”
“Everyone has their own truth” is just one example of these kinds of applause-lights-y nonbeliefs. I say them too when I’m trying to signal empathy, and not much else.
For example, my objection to people believing in poltergeists (which is how the conversation started) isn’t that they believe it. It’s that they don’t see the vast implications of a) transhumanism via ghost transformation, b) undetectable spies, c) remote projection of physical force, or d) possibly unlimited energy. They live as if none of those possibilities exist, which to me is a worse indictment of their beliefs than a lack of evidence, and an indictment of their education even if they’re right about the ghosts.
Because they live as if none of these possibilities exist (i.e. their experiences are constrained), couldn’t you say that for some definition of “believe,” they don’t actually believe in poltergeists? They’re committing a minor sin by saying out loud that they believe in poltergeists, while not living as though they do.
That said, I’d still say that aligning your stated beliefs with how you behave is admirable and effective.
I like how you said this.
In social situations, I’ve been trying to find a delicate and concise way to get across that, “‘Everyone has their own truth’ is not an experience-constraining belief. Saying it is a marker of empathy—good for you (seriously!). But if I wanted to falsify that belief, I wouldn’t know where to begin. What trade-offs do you think you’re making by saying, ‘Everyone has their own truth’?”
“Everyone has their own truth” is just one example of these kinds of applause-lights-y nonbeliefs. I say them too when I’m trying to signal empathy, and not much else.
Because they live as if none of these possibilities exist (i.e. their experiences are constrained), couldn’t you say that for some definition of “believe,” they don’t actually believe in poltergeists? They’re committing a minor sin by saying out loud that they believe in poltergeists, while not living as though they do.
That said, I’d still say that aligning your stated beliefs with how you behave is admirable and effective.