Making sense of beliefs
I've been trying to make sense of beliefs versus facts. Things like religion, culture, politics, and legends. The more I think about it, the more complex it gets.
My initial thinking about beliefs:
We get to choose what we believe in. We don't get to choose facts.
Beliefs are made-up things that make us feel a certain way. And we get to choose that and how it makes us feel.
Facts are the what-is in the world as-it-is, and are unaffected by beliefs. Facts are objective.
Going deeper with beliefs:
There are different kinds of beliefs. The beliefs that we actively choose and the beliefs that are formed through evidence, environment, culture, and life in general.
Formed beliefs are not chosen by conscious will.
Facts are objective but humans are the ones who interpret those facts, and our interpretations are influenced by beliefs.
The line can get blurry between facts and beliefs when we move from simple observations to complex things.
I give up:
I started this thinking I could draw a clear map, but I’ve realized the map is mostly fog. This isn't something that can be straightforward. I’ll leave the heavy lifting to the people who study belief systems for a living. For now, I’m just sitting with the realization that I might not be as objective as I thought I was. Maybe all of us are not as objective as we think we are.