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How are beliefs harmful to others?
- Thread starter Willamena
- Start date
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
If they're extremely heavy, you can bludgeon someone to death with them.
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
When they condone or incourage harmful actions.
ManTimeForgot
Temporally Challenged
When a belief or "conceptual framework" leads us more often to error or immorality than truth or morality, then I think it is self-evident that such a belief or conceptual framework is harmful.
Humans are creatures of learning and the most important learning occurs within the first six years. After about 7 years or so our brains lose a great deal of plasticity. As such after about 7 or so our primary attitudes, approaches, and pre-dispositions towards actions of certain kinds are largely set. You set someone up with a framework of belief that science cannot possibly be right, and they will never be able to understand it their entire rest of their life.
MTF
Humans are creatures of learning and the most important learning occurs within the first six years. After about 7 years or so our brains lose a great deal of plasticity. As such after about 7 or so our primary attitudes, approaches, and pre-dispositions towards actions of certain kinds are largely set. You set someone up with a framework of belief that science cannot possibly be right, and they will never be able to understand it their entire rest of their life.
MTF
Wandered Off
Sporadic Driveby Member
If they interfere with empathy or compassion...
linwood
Well-Known Member
Since it`s my quote you`ve pasted I`ll have a go at explaining.
The Spanish Inquisition.
The KKK, National Alliance, Christian Identity.
The Crusades.
Sharia Law
Soviet Style communism.
Abstinence Education
Those are just a couple of examples of systems of belief that have actively caused harm to people.
On a smaller scale considering the post the paste was taken from.
The Catholic Diocese in my area decided awhile back that Abstinence Only ED was what was to be taught in our public schools and through a series of backroom maneuvers actually instituted it before the sane segment of my community caught on and put it down.
This Catholic belief almost terribly harmed the children in my community.
I have a Muslim co-worker who has no problem beating his wife because he believes Allah tells him it`s ok.
I have another co-worker who believes finding money and not returning it when you can is perfectly ethical and harms no one.
I have numerous acquaintances who believe the black race is intellectually inferior to other races and has no problem with discrimination against blacks.
I could go on but I "believe" the answer to your OP is obvious.
What we believe shapes the very world we live in.
It`s important.
TurkeyOnRye
Well-Known Member
Any absolute perspective on reality can be harmful, particularly aging beliefs that become less true as time passes.
I agree, but in all those cases, the thing doing the actual harm was the action that flowed from the belief, not the belief itself.
Storm
ThrUU the Looking Glass
Just ftr, you don't think such things are inherent to religion, do you?
linwood
Well-Known Member
Without the belief there is no motivation for the action.
No I don`t think they are inherent to religion in general.
I`m aware of religions that don`t promote inequitable ideals.
However I do believe these things are inherent in most religions practiced on this planet at the moment.
To be pedantic, it isn't the belief, but the application of a belief that is harmful to others...
For example, the Spanish Inquisition, if one were to believe that it is ok to burn suspected witches at the stake, but never applied it, it would not harm others...
But as I said, that is just being pedantic
For example, the Spanish Inquisition, if one were to believe that it is ok to burn suspected witches at the stake, but never applied it, it would not harm others...
But as I said, that is just being pedantic
Storm
ThrUU the Looking Glass
Thought so.
Really? Seems to me, if you go by numbers of religions (as opposed to adherents), most are pretty benign.
linwood
Well-Known Member
Thought so.
Really? Seems to me, if you go by numbers of religions (as opposed to adherents), most are pretty benign.
Numbers of religions are practically infinite.
Each individual person can form his/her own distinctive dogma and many do.
It is only the individual adherents that are capable of acting on their beliefs as has been stated here in other posts.
Storm
ThrUU the Looking Glass
There's a big difference between personal theology and religion.
linwood
Well-Known Member
Storm,
I really don`t want to dissolve into another hair splitting contest.
I`ll simply re-phrase my above statement to read.
OmarKhayyam
Well-Known Member
VERY thin line there V-E-R-Y thin.
So thin I would argue it is DWOAD.Nothing is but thinking makes it so.
gnomon
Well-Known Member
To be pedantic, it isn't the belief, but the application of a belief that is harmful to others...
For example, the Spanish Inquisition, if one were to believe that it is ok to burn suspected witches at the stake, but never applied it, it would not harm others...
But as I said, that is just being pedantic
If one believe it is okay to cause physical harm to one group but does not act on it what they do when other people do act on it.
They do nothing.
Last I checked their is this notion of social responsibility.
To the OP:
Yes, beliefs can be harmful. Wiggling out by stating it's the actions that are harmful and not the beliefs which cause them is a cop out.
TurkeyOnRye
Well-Known Member
Beliefs that condone harmful acts as a means to a mind-projected end is insane.