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Believing for comfort

1137

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
This ties in with my other thread on symbolism. I've been thinking more and more lately about what is wrong with believing for comfort. Does anyone really believe we can, or ever will, understand everything? I feel safe assuming most of us here are pretty caught up in religious ideas and arguments. What's the harm in believing in something you may even recognize as false if it helps you sleep? I never expected to be searching for answers for so long I don't want my life to be pondering useless questions. I plan on being a criminial psychologist, and I've gone far beyond what I need to know about religious psychology to do what I want in life.

Obviously some beliefs cause harm. It is comfortable to scapegoat and kill people in some cases, so apply some logical morality to the OP.

You can discuss, I may or may not reapond.
 
Sunstone

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Believing something for comfort does not seem to me an especially effective method for arriving at a true belief. But I'm pressed to find anything wrong with it -- so long as the beliefs one arrives at are not imposed on others.
 
Quagmire

Quagmire

Imaginary talking monkey
Staff member
Premium Member
The Doors of Perception said:
This ties in with my other thread on symbolism. I've been thinking more and more lately about what is wrong with believing for comfort. Does anyone really believe we can, or ever will, understand everything?
Click to expand...

I'm convinced more people put much more effort into not understanding things (quite a lot of things).

The Doors of Perception said:
I feel safe assuming most of us here are pretty caught up in religious ideas and arguments. What's the harm in believing in something you may even recognize as false if it helps you sleep?
Click to expand...

Lying to yourself is a bad habit to get into.

The Doors of Perception said:
I never expected to be searching for answers for so long I don't want my life to be pondering useless questions. I plan on being a criminial psychologist, and I've gone far beyond what I need to know about religious psychology to do what I want in life.

Obviously some beliefs cause harm. It is comfortable to scapegoat and kill people in some cases, so apply some logical morality to the OP.

You can discuss, I may or may not reapond.
Click to expand...

*shrugs*
 
arthra

arthra

Baha'i
Frankly I don't see anything wrong with people who believe in something for "comfort".. A lot of things happen in life to people and they sometimes would rather accept that there is a God and an after-life for reasons of comfort...very often this happens when a loved one has passed away or there is a great loss.

Until it happens to you personally you may not understand this..

As far as "understanding everything"? ... No I doubt we can "understand everything" nor can we "know" everything... Humility is called for.
 
Sir Doom

Sir Doom

Cooler than most of you
I don't think I can choose out of this process. Every belief that I have provides some kind of comfort. My human perceptions can be relied on in almost every case, but if they had never let me down I'd be a lucky man. I continue to believe they show me the truth because I like to think the universe I perceive is real and functions as I perceive it. But we can't know for sure if it will change two seconds fro- OH GOD WHAT IS THAT THING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

J/k, anyway, yeah I think belief for comfort is the only type. At least the only type I've ever experienced.
 
Penumbra

Penumbra

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I don't particularly think believing in something for comfort is effective or virtuous.

I'm not even really sure how one would consciously do that. It seems to me that any belief that occurs for comfort is likely to be understood by the believer to be a belief in something that is true.

My parents have beliefs that seem to comfort them. They talk about them all the time. I generally just listen and occasionally ask a question or two for curiosity, since I don't really feel like trying to dissuade them from something they find comfortable. It only gets awkward if they ask me if I believe what they believe and then try to ask why not, or ask for specifics.
 
Sir Doom

Sir Doom

Cooler than most of you
Penumbra said:
I don't particularly think believing in something for comfort is effective or virtuous.

I'm not even really sure how one would consciously do that. It seems to me that any belief that occurs for comfort is likely to be understood by the believer to be a belief in something that is true.
Click to expand...

All belief is belief in truth (at least subjectively). We doubt our beliefs from time to time and we seek to reinforce them. But if we find them untrue, we stop believing them. People pretend to hang on to things and say they believe things, but that secret harbored doubt destroys the belief entirely. You can trick the outside world but not yourself. Unless you have actually tricked yourself in which case the doubt is destroyed and the belief becomes true again.
 
1137

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
Penumbra said:
I understand how this keyboard works.

I understand how to use my oven.

I understand algebra.

These are things I happened to have learned, and find to be useful.

For mysterious questions, one would likely do well to not be uncomfortable due to not knowing things.
Click to expand...

I find all those comforting. You can give your thoughts, cook without blowing up your house, understand algebra speaks for itself haha.
 
Penumbra

Penumbra

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The Doors of Perception said:
I find all those comforting. You can give your thoughts, cook without blowing up your house, understand algebra speaks for itself haha.
Click to expand...
They don't give a sense of comfort in the way you seemed to be describing, like philosophical comfort.

I could pick an understanding of something fairly arbitrary and unhelpful as an example instead.
 
javajo

javajo

Well-Known Member
I don't know about comfort, it can be uncomfortable to do what God has for one to do, and it may lead to persecution of all kinds, even imprisonment, torture or death. To be a (good) Christian is not always comfortable, but it does bring "the peace that passes all understanding", the very peace of God in us and with us and around us, and the joy of knowing we are deeply loved, freely forgiven and Heaven bound.
 
1137

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
Penumbra said:
They don't give a sense of comfort in the way you seemed to be describing, like philosophical comfort.

I could pick an understanding of something fairly arbitrary and unhelpful as an example instead.
Click to expand...

No, you are correct.
 
Orias

Orias

Left Hand Path
I think comfort is truth, as it is a gift such as living. People die, they are capable of killing themselves off and living stubbornly, they are also capable of living with joy and gratitude.

Perhaps not for God or for some higher form of existence, but just for existing. As long as their self gratifying beliefs do not impose some sort threat to my existence then all is fine. But I also must keep in mind, as a pack leader I must keep my territory small yet productive, as to prevent an unnecessary conflict with other warring states.

Its also good to keep in mind, that everyone (except for the obvious) is capable of doing things that other people are capable of doing and maybe even better.

In a way, it is the unleashing of our inner Satan, the desire to oppose and test, to pick sides.

Even when you are in your own territory, its good to remember where you are.
 
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blackout

blackout

Violet.
I see that people (choose to) believe (in) all kinds of things for the sake of comfort.

*the economy will get better.
*the economy will get better when... (fill in the blank)
*I will find work in my field after college and make a good living.
*I will be happy when.... ___________
*things will get better when....___________
*my marriage will last a lifetime.
*I will succeed if I keep trying.
*I will beat the odds.
*It will all work out for the best in the end.

How many of them turn out, in the end, to have been little more than fairytales
repeated and clung to, for the sake of hope and perseverance... and even joy.
 
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Orias

Orias

Left Hand Path
People do not believe for the sake of choice, they believe for the sake of existence.

The only reason its choice is because they'd rather not kill themselves.
 
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