Robert Audi - How Belief Systems Affect Believers

Why do people believe the things they do? We like to think that we are rational, that what we believe is true. But often we come to our beliefs, unknowingly, as a product of our particular ‘belief systems’. How do belief systems work their credulous magic? What principles enable belief systems to influence individuals and commandeer groups?

Robert Audi is the John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.

Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[bretnetherton]

Awareness is known by awareness alone.

[georgegrubbs]

Right out of the gate, I would NOT place science as a "belief system", particularly on par with a religious belief system or even a philosophical belief system. Science places top emphasis on evidence, explanation, predictability, and falsifiability. Religion totally lacks this and philosophy bepends on argumentation given certain premises.

[FelipeCarvalhoSinging]

A lot of dancing around the issue instead of addressing it directly, you could apply the same idea to people who are deceived by con artists, in some cases greed and stupidity made them gullible, on other cases it might have been a genuine hard case for them to know they were being harmed, so you can have *gradations* to it and types of deceptions. It does not change the fact that it is deception and that the con artist is reprehensible.

[brothermine]

Huge mistake at the end (8:35) where Audi claims religious faith leads people to behave in admirable ways. It can also lead people to behave in terrible ways toward people who don't have the same faith.

[mrshankerbillletmein]

Most of what we think we know are actually beliefs.

Faith is not exclusively religjous, some believe all is matierial, matter and energy but how much do I know for sure.

[JohnnyTwoFingers]

I wonder if the fact that the thinking of scientific materialists is rarely analyzed in any serious matter might contribute to their stellar reputation 🤔

[thomasridley]

As much as they wish it did, faith has never made a god real.

[johnbrzykcy]

"I have these words, but I'm not sure what they really mean".
That's excellent! I'm a Christian believer yet I also struggle with words such as "faith", "trust", and even "love" ( God's love).
Does it take an intellectual PhD to understand these words? And even if we profess the words, do they correlate with our emotions and reasoning?
If these highly educated scholars question the meaning of words, where should I turn? I'm getting old !
Respectfully...

[SurrealMcCoy]

Did he really say that atheism is a belief system?

[martinwilliams]

People who don't believe in God, aren't necessarily Atheists, there's also Agnostics, & even Atheists can believe in God, just not a Theist God.

[JohnRevelation]

Modern Quantum Physics has shown that reality is based on probability:
​
A statistical impossibility is defined as “a probability that is so low as to not be worthy of mentioning. Sometimes it is quoted as 1/10^50 although the cutoff is inherently arbitrary. Although not truly impossible the probability is low enough so as to not bear mention in a Rational, Reasonable argument." The probability of finding one particular atom out of all of the atoms in the universe has been estimated to be 1/10^80. The probability of just one (1) functional 150 amino acid protein chain forming by chance is 1/10^164. It has been calculated that the probability of DNA forming by chance is 1/10^119, 000. The probability of random chance protein-protein linkages in a cell is 1/10^79, 000, 000, 000. Based on just these three cellular components, it would be far more Rational and Reasonable to conclude that the cell was not formed by un-directed random natural processes. Note: Abiogenesis Hypothesis posits that un-directed random natural processes, i.e. random chance formation, of molecules led to living organisms. Natural selection has no effect on individual atoms and molecules on the micro scale in a prebiotic environment. (*For reference, peptides/proteins can vary in size from 3 amino acid chains to 34, 000 amino acid chains. Some scientists consider 300-400 amino acid protein chains to be the average size. There are 42, 000, 000 protein molecules in just one (1) simple cell, each protein requiring precise assembly. There are approx. 30, 000, 000, 000, 000 cells in the human body.)

Of all the physical laws and constants, just the Cosmological Constant alone is tuned to a level of 1/10^120; not to mention the fine-tuning of the Mass-Energy distribution of early universe which is 1/10^10^123. Therefore, in the fine-tuning argument, it would be more Rational and Reasonable to conclude that the multi-verse is not the correct answer. On the other hand, it has been scientifically proven numerous times that Consciousness does indeed collapse the wave function to cause information waves of probability/potentiality to become particle/matter with 1/1 probability. A rational and reasonable person could therefore conclude that the answer is consciousness.

A "Miracle" is considered to be an event with a probability of occurrence of 1/10^6. Abiogenesis, RNA World Hypothesis, and Multiverse would all far, far, far exceed any "Miracle". Yet, these extremely irrational and unreasonable hypotheses are what some of the world’s top scientists ‘must’ believe in because of a prior commitment to a strictly arbitrary, subjective, biased, narrow, limiting, materialistic ideology / worldview.

Every idea, number, concept, thought, theory, mathematical equation, abstraction, qualia, etc. existing within and expressed by anyone is "Immaterial" or "Non-material". The very idea or concept of "Materialism" is an immaterial entity and by it's own definition does not exist. Modern science seems to be stuck in archaic, subjective, biased, incomplete ideologies that have inadequately attempted to define the "nature of reality" or the "reality of nature" for millennia. A Paradigm Shift in ‘Science’ is needed for humanity to advance. A major part of this Science Paradigm Shift would be the formal acknowledgment by the scientific community of the existence of "Immaterial" or "Non-material" entities as verified and confirmed by observation of the universe and discoveries in Quantum Physics.)

[patientson]

Patience is the father of love, endurance, etc, . Without suffering, there is no excellent gift.

[Check]

As on date science has worked on matter and has made a great progress that we see in this material world . However it has not started its research on spirit which is called the being . This whole cosmos has a being which works tirelessly from billion of years . Faith is strong weapon which can never be defeated the with sword of rationale

[Pseudothink]

(8:30) "Especially if the position isn't going to lead you to do immoral things..." After listening to all the verbal hoops being jumped through by this guy talking about varying degrees of rationality and justification, then he makes this caveat like it's a reasonable assumption. I'm scared of stupid people (people whose actions cause a net loss to others *and* to themselves), but I'm much more scared of people capable of this level of seemingly coherent thought who still choose stupid beliefs.

[evaadam]

The rationality behind faith in a Conscious God is the fact that we are aware and conscious, because the other alternative belief (Big Bang) does not make any sense.

The idea that your Consciousness was a product of the EXPLOSION of NOTHING falls off from the parameters of sanity, funny at best. Consciousness coming from CONSCIOUS ORIGIN is what makes sense.

[patientson]

A being that dies and still wakes up shows that they have some miles to cover on foot. There journey must be completed. Suffering is the best thing that can happen to a man and woman start from the root upto the fruits.

[patientson]

Faith is the beginning. This might include thinking of starting. The process is still waiting for you to start. The process leaves you with life and more. The end, hope, brings you to a worthy destination of believing in faith, doing the process works with patience and endurance, and arriving at the destination after covering longsuffering miles walking. This is an acausal station set in time by yours truly.

[patientson]

It is either you are hot or cold. You finished a doctorial. In my book that says a whole lot of truth about your patience to withstand a stronghold on knowing, understanding by doing with the uppermost limbs and echelon of your being, and less of the lower limbs and it's areas of replenishment through walking and kneeling to gently force strength going upwards with time and love of patience. If you walk enough, you will see your great grandchildren or great great grandchildren. Understand the bible for yourself by analysing it for yourself no matter how long it will take you. You will see the pattern I saw in it that is prevalent in our lives and in most technologies in existence. You will rather choose persistence over transient ideals, expressions and manifestations.

[nurgahaditia]

😱🤣 holy moly, what a words from senior...
Im not sure most people understand what you said honest sir!? 😅
Everybody have their own inclination, could be genetic, cultural narative or even stupid propaganda that only lead people to worship their own ego!? 🤔
My gratitude for your kind wise words, but the truth is always waiting to be found so we have "justification" to be silence in admiration for GOD works!? 🤔😅
#justupidea... ✌️😁

[Lillianachimp]

...but yet he tells us sbout his belief about belief...