Does a person actually hold a belief if they perceive it to be true, but can offer no justification or reason for why it is in fact true? I argue that the person who can offer no justification of a belief, does not truly hold that belief, rather it is something that the person may know based on their upbringing or were perhaps exposed over period of time and eventually became to be known as true. I assert that beliefs are caused, this cause will become the reason or justification for the belief, just like there is no effect if there is no cause, and then there is no belief if there is no reason.
I assert that beliefs are caused, this cause will become the reason or justification for the belief, just like there is no effect if there is no cause, and then there is no belief if there is no reason.
Yes beliefs are caused. But our rationalizations of those causes, our interpretive explanation, is necessarily limited and part of the cultural practices that make a belief of a belief, sociologically. That you accept only certain kinds of rationalizations - presumably “I can feel it in my bones” does not qualify for you - is as historically contingent and arbitrary as those in the Middle Ages that believed that a belief could not be true unless it was supported by Scripture. Its just one more structuring of the subject. It is the somatic experience of surety that produces beliefs, how we go about justifying them to others is simply part of acculturation.
Anyone can believe anything. A rational belief is simply a belief that the person holding the belief can rationalize in their head. Very subjective to the individual.
Because of course, what is considered rational varies wildly from person to person, based on intelligence, experience, common sense, knowledge of logic, knowledge of mathmatics, etc etc etc…
LOL, sorry, but try this line on a religious or nationalistic person. They believe, and this is their faith, hence they will argue for whatever, based on their beliefs regardless of the facts.
Heck, I do not know, my mom’s nuts too, “A good Christian goes to bed early.” Ah, who is to know.
I realize that most on this board will discount this, but I have never met a person without having an instinct regarding said person. No rational, no previous encounters, but just know what a person is by the first handshake and the first few words. Sounds silly, but true as I’ve not been wrong yet. ODD.
This can be easily rationalized. Maybe you pick up on certain nuances in a persons movements or behavior or demeanor on a subconscious level that translate to a conscious awareness.
A greater majority of what goes on inside us, including our own brain, operates on a level we aren’t conscious of.
