Understanding Belief

This blog is a glimpse into a book I’ve been “working on” for years. It started with a disturbing puzzlement about some friends I cared deeply for who held beliefs I considered wrong, sometimes even destructive. As I began to ponder, questions arose. How do we form our beliefs? How can we discover the truth? Can we change the closely held beliefs of others? What about identity (beliefs about who we are)? What about values (beliefs about right and wrong)? What about society and when things go awry? And so on.

Consequently, I started a research project - reading everything I could find at the library and online…and I pondered. Of course, one subject led to another, and the years rolled by. Since we don’t live forever, and our acuity doesn’t necessarily improve with age, perseverance is required. With enough post-retirement free time to spend (after family, travel, and golf commitments are accommodated), I am determined to finish this beast.

A couple warnings. Following my advice to periodically reassess our beliefs can be stressful, with periods of cognitive dissonance during transitions. The book will include instruments for those types of assessments. However, I’m confident you can take care of yourself. Besides, our confirmation bias will tend to deepen our most dear convictions. It is not my intention to persuade you to assume my beliefs. Wherever possible, I will confess my biases and give a grade for my level of certainty in any debatable, consequential topic. Your path to your Truth is your own.

The other warning. Some of the material may put you to sleep. This happened one day while driving my golf buddy home after a round. In fairness, he did ask about the book. After only a couple minutes of discourse, I turned to find him softly snoring. To mitigate this risk, I am structuring the book with one-to-four-page chapters with plenty of illustrations. We’ll see how that goes.

To give you an idea of how far down the rabbit hole I’ve gone pursuing questions about belief, below you will find the current list of chapters (it keeps evolving), some graphics that may be included (with many more to be developed), and a bibliography of books and articles I’ve consulted so far. I welcome any suggestions for ideas and additional material to pursue.

When will this book be completed? If I can maintain my current focus and as life events permit – I believe it will be “published” in 2024.

Final Note: This book has no title yet. As it evolved, I kept changing its name. I will wait until it is completed before choosing a final one. For the sake of this blog, I will use the one that originally came to mind – Understanding Belief. When I Googled that name to avoid plagiarism, I discovered a wonderful book, Understanding Beliefs, by Stanford professor Nils J. Nilsson - an authority on AI who sadly passed in 2019. I value my copy of his offering and will include some of his findings.

Bon Appetite!

Jim [ellisjimm@gmail.com]

***********************************

Understanding Belief

   By Jim M Ellis

     Table of Contents

Preface

·        Why this book?

·        Truth and Probability

·        The God and/or Nature Question

·        Words and Models Caveat

·        Self-Assessments

PART I: Beliefs

·        They believe what?!

·        Belief vs. Knowledge. How much do we know?

               “We know almost nothing. We can believe almost anything.”

·        In praise of belief

·        The Belief Process

·        Reality, Facts, and Truth

·        Influencers: Truth Tellers and Liars

·        Perception and Limitations

·        Memory

·        Cognitive Biases and Dissonance

·        Human Needs

·        Emotions

·        Beliefs and Belief Clusters

·        Decisions and Actions

·        Consequences, Learning, and Justifications

·        Summary

·        Self-Assessment: Beliefs

·        Next steps

PART II: Identities: Beliefs about who we are

·        Who are you?

·        Identities on display

·        Learning Identity

·        Identity Crisis

·        Personality

·        Pride: Humble or Hubristic

·        Values and Virtues

·        Identity: A matter of Survival

·        Self-Assessments: Identity, Pride, and Values

·        Next Steps

PART III: Social Contracts: Beliefs about how we should relate

·        You are a social mammal

·        Living with the other Idiots

·        Social Contracts: Morals, Ethics, Laws, and Justice

·        When individuals go wrong

·        When groups go wrong

·        Utopia?

·        How to be an Ethical Influencer

·        Self-Assessment: Relationships

·        Next Steps

PART IV: Choosing

·        Free will, addictions, and self-control

·        Using Logic, Probability, and Emotional Intelligence to choose our Beliefs

·        Taming our biases

·        Choosing our Identities and Pride

·        Managing our Relationships

·        Concerns, Influence, and Control

·        Choosing our Values

·        Choosing our Behavior

·        Learning from our mistakes to refresh our beliefs

·        Self-Assessment: Values

·        Final thoughts

ADDENDUM: Related Topics

· Neuroscience

· Philosophy

· Sociology and Psycho-Sociology

· Anthropology and Economics

· Mythology: Heroes, Villains and Quests

· Religion

· Humanism

· Prejudice

· Brainwashing and Cults

· Conspiracy Theories

· Journalism and the Media

· American Politics and Values

· International Politics and Values

· Gender, Race, and Culture

· Fears, Facts, and Phobias

· Mental Illness, Mental Health

· Therapeutic Modalities

· Stress Management

· Moral/Ethical issues

·        “Do no harm”?

·        Abortion

·        Sex

·        Gun Rights/Control

·        Conflict and War

·        Immigration

·        Selfishness vs. Selflessness

·        Planet Stewardship

·      Artificial Intelligence (AI)

GLOSSARY

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

 Note about Models and Graphics

The renowned physicist Richard Feynman once credited his father with the following wise guidance. Words are not the thing they represent. Just because we know what a thing is called doesn’t mean we fully know that thing. However, words are immensely useful.

The same can be said about models. We find deficiencies in them all. Yet, they can provide a path toward greater understanding. Take Watson, Crick, and Franklin’s double helix model representing DNA. Or the value of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model in understanding human motivations. Not to put my models and illustrations on that level…but you get, I believe, the point.

Below are sample illustrations and models intended to illustrate concepts in each chapter. Some I have created; others are borrowed from (and will be credited to) others.

Belief Images

 

Bibliography

Before this book is published, more material will be found and included. Below is a list of books, articles, and Wikipedia posts I’ve already read (or scanned). Some of the books have joined my personal library. Others I’ve borrowed from our wonderful local libraries. Articles found via Google are noted. Even Wikipedia has been useful. In defense of that last source, I would counter those who decry its inaccuracies by simply saying they are trying their best to vet information shared on their platform. Besides that, as my book claims, we can be certain of almost nothing about the information we receive. We must reserve a little space in our consciousness for skepticism….just not too much.

[Note: Blogger couldn't cope with a third column containing the authors' names. So, for this iteration, I've omitted it.]

Document Title	Source Type
12 Signs of a Controlling Personality	Article
14 potential evolutionary dead ends for humanity	Article
14 Types of Knowledge	Article
24 Cognitive Biases	Article
4 Cognitive Biases That Affect Your Productivity	Article
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology	Book
7 Neurotransmitters Involved in the Brain-Body Connection	Article
8 types of identity	Article
A Cognitive Account of Belief	Article
A link between brain damage and religious fundamentalism	Article
A Neuro-Philosophy of Human Nature	Article
A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) by Maslow	Book
Against Gettier Problems	Article
Albert's formulation	Wikipedia
Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World	Book
Altruistic Brain, The: How we are naturally good	Book
American Values
American Values 2	Article
Amygdala illustrated and explained	Article
An Atheist's History of Belief	Book
Anthropology 1	Article
Antisemitism and the Holocaust	Unknown
Art of Logic	Book
Attitiudes Values Beliefs defined	Article
Ayn Rand	Wikipedia
Baron Munchausen’s dilemma	Wikipedia
Basics of Identity	Article
Belief and Identity	Article
Belief and Logic, Mathematics, and AI	Unknown
Belief Defined	Various
Belief in the Brain - Scientific America V2	Article
Belief Systems	Wikipedia
Beliefs and Identity	Article
Beliefs Behaviors Results	Article
Believing Bullshit V3	Book
Believing: The Neuroscience of fantasies, fears, and convictions	Book
Bias - Wiki	Wikipedia
Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience	Book
Can You Have Two Thoughts at Once	Article
Capacity of Cognitive Control Estimated from a Perceptual Decision Making Task - Brief	Article
Cause…and how it doesn’t always equal effect	Book
Chaos Machine	Book
Code of Journalist Ethics	Article
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy	Article
Cognitive Bias Codex - Circle	Article
Cognitive Bias Codex - Spreadsheet	Article
Cognitive Bias Graphic	Article
Cognitive Biase 151 V1	Article
Cognitive Dissonance	Article
Combating Cult Mind Control V3	Book
Conscience - The Origins of Moral Intuition	Book
Consciousness - Wiki	Article
Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering how the brain codes our thoughts	Book
Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction	Book
Conspiracy theories in United States politics	Wikipedia
Core American Values	Article
Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction	Book
Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum Project	Article
Cult of Trump V2	Book
cultish beliefs of mom	Article
Cultural Anthropology - wiki	Wikipedia
Curing Mad Truths	Book
Decision Making - Wiki	Article
Deprogramming - Wiki	Wikipedia
Difference between Belief and Knowledge	Article
Do No Harm - Wiki	Wikipedia
Do’s and Don’ts for Dealing with Toxic Behavior	Article
Don't Think of an Elephant: Know your values and frame the debate	Book
Door, The	Story
Dopamine Nation V3	Book
Emotion - Wikipedia	Article
Emotional First Aid	Book
Emotions - Britannica	Article
Emotions we feel may shape what we see
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress	Book
Epistemology versus religion	Article
Erik Erickson	Wikipedia
Ethical Machines	Book
Ethics - Wiki	Wikipedia
Evil: The Science behind Humanity's Dark Side	Book
Evolution of Religion Chart	Article
Fact-Checking	Wikipedia
Factfulness	Book
Faith in Christianity	Article
Fake news radio show notes	Radio
Farsighted: How we make the decisions that matter the most	Book
Feeling Smart: Why our emotions are more rational than we think	Book
Feynman Lectures Listings
Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs	Book
Game Theory - wiki	Wikipedia
Games People Play	Wikipedia
God - Wiki	Wikipedia
Heads Up Sociology	Book
Hero's Journey	Wikipedia
How Brainwashing Works	Article
How did time begin, and how will it end	Article
How do robots think
How to change peoples minds	Article
How to Question Your Beliefs and Why You Should	Article
How to Use Behavioral Experiments to Test What You Believe	Article
How to Win Friends and Influence People	Book
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Wiki	Wikipedia
Human Function Curve - Stress	Article
Human Nature	Wikipedia
Human Programming: Brainwashing, Automatons, and American Unfreedom	Book
Humanism - Wiki	Wikipedia
Humanistic Psychology - Wiki	Wikipedia
Humanitarian Principles	Internet
Hypocracy	Article
Ideas that changed the world	Article
Identifying Fake News	Book
Identity - Psychology Today	Article
Identity - Types	Wikipedia
Identity (social science) - Wikipedia	Wikipedia
Idiot Brain: What your head is really up to	Book
Illustion of Consciousness	Interview
In the Name of identity	Book
IN THE PROVINCE OF THE MIND with JOHN C Lilly	Article
Inconvenient Truth about Your Authentic Self	Article
Infinity	Book
Influence is your Superpower	Book
Influence vs Control	Article
Jack Burkman - Interview	Interview
Joseph Campbell	Wikipedia
Justification - epistemology	Wikipedia
Justification - Genocide	Wikipedia
Knowledge Illusion, The	Book
Life Change Index Scale	Article
List of Cognitive Biases - Wiki	Wikipedia
List of social psychology theories - Wikipedia	Wikipedia
Logic - Wiki	Wikipedia
Logic and Mathematics 1	Article
Lying	Book
Making Sense of People - The Science of Personality Differences V1	Book
Meaning in Life and Why it Matters	Book
Media bias Graphic	Graph
Memory - Wiki	Wikipedia
Mind Code: How the Language we use influences the way we think	Book
Mind Programming: from persuasion and brainwashing to self-help and practical metaphysics	Book
Mind Within the Brain, The: How we make decisions and how those decisions go wrong	Book
Mindfulness - Without the Bells and Whistles	Book
Mistaken Identity	Book
Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics	Book
Moral Intelligence 2.0	Book
Motivation and Personality (1954)	Book
Myths & Legends: An Illustrated Guide to their origins and meanings	Book
Myths to Live By	Book
Neurocomic: A Comic about the Brain	Book
Neuroimaging and Unconscious Biases	Article
Neuroscience - Wiki	Wikipedia
nudge	Article
Objectivism	Wikipedia
Optimistic Nihilism - video	YouTube
Origin of Consciousness – How Unaware Things Became Aware	YouTube
Paradox of Reality	Article
PBS NewsHour - Conspiracy Theories Brooke and Shields	Article
Perception - How our bodies shape our minds	Book
Personal identity	Article
Personality - Wiki	Wikipedia
Philosophers	Unknown
Philosopy Cartoon Book	Book
Political Issues	Unknown
Preemptive War	Wikipedia
Prejudice - Wiki	Wikipedia
Pride - wiki	Wikipedia
Problem of Perception	Article
Protagoras of Plato	Article
Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity	Article
Psychology of Fact Checking	Article
Quantum computing explained with a deck of cards	YouTube
Question Everything: A Stone Reader	Book
Reasons for Action - Justification Motivation Explanation
Religion	Wikipedia
Religion and Mythology	Wikipedia
Responsibility for the Holocaust	Wikipedia
Responsible Data Science	Book
Rick Steves Fascism in Europe	Documentary
Science of Morality	Wikipedia
Self Belief ignites Behavior	Article
Self-Defense	Article
Self-Preservation	Wikipedia
Serenity Prayer - Wiki	Wikipedia
Six Basic American Cultural Values	Article
Social & Cultural Anthropology – A very short introduction	Book
Social Psychology: Student Handbook to Psychology	Book
Social-Psychology Wikipedia	Wikipedia
Sociology - Wiki	Wikipedia
Socio-Psychological Theory Defined
Stereotypes and Belief Updating	Article
Stone Reader, The	Book
Stranger in their own land	Book
Strangers in their own Land - Reviews	Article
Stress Management - wiki	Wikipedia
Student Handbook to Psychology - Brain and Mind V3	Book
Student Handbook to Psychology History	Book
Student Handbook to Psychology Personality and Abnormal Psychology V3	Book
Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck	Book
Surrounded by Psychopaths	Book
Tactics Narcissists Use to Gain Power	Article
Test your beliefs by seeking out other viewpoints	Article
The emotions we feel may shape what we see	Article
The Proximity Factor V2
Theory of Consciousness: IIT	Article
Therapy	Article
There Is No Cure for Your Cognitive Dissonance	Article
This 1 chart explains how bad Fox News is for our politics	Article
Touching a Nerve	Book
Trailblazers in Philosophy	Book
Trusted Experts	Article
Truth about Lies, The	Book
Truth -Wiki	Wikipedia
Truth-Default Theory	Wikipedia
Types of Knowledge	Article
Understanding Beliefs	Book
Understanding Consciousness goes beyond exploring brain chemistry	Article
Understanding Consciousness is key to unlocking the secrets of the Universe	Article
Understanding Nihilism	Article
Understanding Unconscious Bias	Interview
Useful Delusions	Book
Utopia - Wiki	Wikipedia
Values - Ethics and Social Sciences - Wiki	Wikipedia
Values in Action Inventory of Strengths	Article
Veneer Theory - Wiki	Wikipedia
VIA Values and Strengths Survey	Article
Virtue - Wiki	Wikipedia
We don't have free will	Article
Weird Beliefs	Article
What are core beliefs	Article
What are the 7 Senses	Article
What do Right and Wrong Mean to the GOP	Article
What is the difference between Fact and Truth	Article
What Is The Difference Between Knowledge and Belief	Internet
What's the difference between decision theory	Article
When Does Making the Ultimate Sacrifice Make Sense	Article
Who are You - 101 Ways of Seeing Yourself	Book
Who's In Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain	Book
Why is Changing Your Mind So Hard	Article
Why We Believe	Book
Why We Think the Things We Think: Philosophy in a Nutshell	Book
Will to Live	Wikipedia
Will to Power	Wikipedia
Zero-sum Thinking	Wikipedia