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What is wrong with those people who believe in superstitions?

roger1440

roger1440

I do stuff
sovietchild said:
What is wrong with those people who believe in superstitions?

A very large number of people strongly believe in the bad luck that comes after breaking a mirror, encountering a black cat, choosing the numbers or pointing a finger at the rainbow.

Some people believe that passing below a ladder can bring bad luck, others believe that four leaved clovers can bring good luck while a third group believe that carrying a rabbit's foot can bring good luck.

The Prophet Muhammad clarified that there was no concept of ill omens in Islam and that belief in ill omens would lead individuals to polytheism (shirk). He stated that the cry of a bird or the way it flew could not be interpreted as ill omens, and he advised that unusual objects and events be interpreted in a positive way. He also mentioned that casting spells or carrying amulets would harm the belief in tawhid (the Unity of God).
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No one believes they believe in a superstition. It’s always the other people who believe in a superstition.
 
Jainarayan

Jainarayan

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Staff member
Premium Member
roger1440 said:
No one believes they believe in a superstition. It’s always the other people who believe in a superstition.
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I don't believe at all that I'm superstitious. I know I'm superstitious. :p
 
Rational Agnostic

Rational Agnostic

Well-Known Member
sovietchild said:
What is wrong with those people who believe in superstitions?

A very large number of people strongly believe in the bad luck that comes after breaking a mirror, encountering a black cat, choosing the numbers or pointing a finger at the rainbow.

Some people believe that passing below a ladder can bring bad luck, others believe that four leaved clovers can bring good luck while a third group believe that carrying a rabbit's foot can bring good luck.

The Prophet Muhammad clarified that there was no concept of ill omens in Islam and that belief in ill omens would lead individuals to polytheism (shirk). He stated that the cry of a bird or the way it flew could not be interpreted as ill omens, and he advised that unusual objects and events be interpreted in a positive way. He also mentioned that casting spells or carrying amulets would harm the belief in tawhid (the Unity of God).
Click to expand...

Not sure why people believe in superstitions. Also, just in case you are not aware, your religion, as well as other religions, are based on the foundation of superstition. You are superstitious as well; you just do not realize it.
 
Cephus

Cephus

Relentlessly Rational
Hubert Farnsworth said:
Not sure why people believe in superstitions. Also, just in case you are not aware, your religion, as well as other religions, are based on the foundation of superstition. You are superstitious as well; you just do not realize it.
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Because it makes them feel good. It's an emotional reaction to fear. It's what happens when people turn their brains off and just react because it's more comforting than thinking. And then they desperately try to rationalize their irrational beliefs because they don't want to look ridiculous.

But they do anyhow.
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
sovietchild said:
What is wrong with those people who believe in superstitions?

A very large number of people strongly believe in the bad luck that comes after breaking a mirror, encountering a black cat, choosing the numbers or pointing a finger at the rainbow.

Some people believe that passing below a ladder can bring bad luck, others believe that four leaved clovers can bring good luck while a third group believe that carrying a rabbit's foot can bring good luck.

The Prophet Muhammad clarified that there was no concept of ill omens in Islam and that belief in ill omens would lead individuals to polytheism (shirk). He stated that the cry of a bird or the way it flew could not be interpreted as ill omens, and he advised that unusual objects and events be interpreted in a positive way. He also mentioned that casting spells or carrying amulets would harm the belief in tawhid (the Unity of God).
Click to expand...
Superstitions... like a person believing that they have to pray at the same time every day, always facing in a particular direction?

Often, "superstitions" are just other people's religious beliefs.
 
The Emperor of Mankind

The Emperor of Mankind

Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
sovietchild said:
Why do you think Muhammad was a person without culture, refinement, and education?
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Okay here's my list. I got distracted by real life stuff until now so sorry it took so long. Here's a list of why Muhammad was without culture, refinement & education.
  • He rejected the Arab culture & beliefs of the day, saying they worshipped false gods and were following a corrupt religion;
  • He didn't create any new culture or enhance the current one; he merely co-opted it (something his followers would go on to do in Persia & elsewhere);
  • He was a wealthy illiterate man growing up in a literate culture (according to Muslims) which indicates a lack of refinement & education;
  • He stressed religious tolerance when it suited him but engaged in religious intolerance from the moment he gained any level of actual power;
  • He crushed a vibrant & diverse belief system and replaced it with a monotone culture which discouraged independent thought (at least one Muslim historian writing in the 14th Century noticed that Arab Muslims were less likely to be learned than non-Arab Muslims);
  • He co-opted customs he grew up with in a religious system he derided as corrupt (the concept of a Sacred Month);
  • He encouraged the rejection of most forms of art of the time;
 
sovietchild

sovietchild

Well-Known Member
A Greased Scotsman said:
Okay here's my list. I got distracted by real life stuff until now so sorry it took so long. Here's a list of why Muhammad was without culture, refinement & education.
  • He rejected the Arab culture & beliefs of the day, saying they worshipped false gods and were following a corrupt religion;
  • He didn't create any new culture or enhance the current one; he merely co-opted it (something his followers would go on to do in Persia & elsewhere);
  • He was a wealthy illiterate man growing up in a literate culture (according to Muslims) which indicates a lack of refinement & education;
  • He stressed religious tolerance when it suited him but engaged in religious intolerance from the moment he gained any level of actual power;
  • He crushed a vibrant & diverse belief system and replaced it with a monotone culture which discouraged independent thought (at least one Muslim historian writing in the 14th Century noticed that Arab Muslims were less likely to be learned than non-Arab Muslims);
  • He co-opted customs he grew up with in a religious system he derided as corrupt (the concept of a Sacred Month);
  • He encouraged the rejection of most forms of art of the time;
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What about those people who put Jesus on the cross. Do you think they were barbarians also?
 
V

vijeno

Member
Carlita said:
Why do people believe in them? Why not put a piece of brown paper bag under the tongue if one really thought it would end a nose bleed? Why not exorcise a home if one really thought there were bad spirits within it?
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There are two main reasons:

1. If you start with one, you have no reason, logically, to exclude any others. Once it's brown paper bags, why not the Ouija board? Why not believe in Godzilla? Why not think that black people are inferior to whites?

2. If you spend a lot of time on a cure, you tend to believe that it works, even if it doesn't. It's the sunk cost fallacy, and we all tend to fall for it. And then people don't do the stuff that actually works, and then they die.
 
The Kilted Heathen

The Kilted Heathen

Crow FreyjasmaðR
What is wrong with all these Muslims asking what is wrong with other people?

So soviet, would you say that you do not believe in signs from your god?
 
U

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
vijeno said:
There are two main reasons:

1. If you start with one, you have no reason, logically, to exclude any others. Once it's brown paper bags, why not the Ouija board? Why not believe in Godzilla? Why not think that black people are inferior to whites?

2. If you spend a lot of time on a cure, you tend to believe that it works, even if it doesn't. It's the sunk cost fallacy, and we all tend to fall for it. And then people don't do the stuff that actually works, and then they die.
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I'm asking why not believe in superstitions. Regardless if they work or not, they are useful to whomever believes in them.

Another way of asking is, why is it wrong for people to believe in superstitions? Why wouldn't it make sense given the context and culture of the people who use them?
 
Satans_Serrated_Edge

Satans_Serrated_Edge

Deicidal
sovietchild said:
What is wrong with those people who believe in superstitions?

A very large number of people strongly believe in the bad luck that comes after breaking a mirror, encountering a black cat, choosing the numbers or pointing a finger at the rainbow.

Some people believe that passing below a ladder can bring bad luck, others believe that four leaved clovers can bring good luck while a third group believe that carrying a rabbit's foot can bring good luck.

The Prophet Muhammad clarified that there was no concept of ill omens in Islam and that belief in ill omens would lead individuals to polytheism (shirk). He stated that the cry of a bird or the way it flew could not be interpreted as ill omens, and he advised that unusual objects and events be interpreted in a positive way. He also mentioned that casting spells or carrying amulets would harm the belief in tawhid (the Unity of God).
Click to expand...
Superstitions. You mean like believing in fire people and omnipotent magical beings?

Ya. What's wrong with them indeed.
 
V

vijeno

Member
Carlita said:
I'm asking why not believe in superstitions. Regardless if they work or not, they are useful to whomever believes in them.
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Sure.

Let's define superstition: A superstition is belief in a supernatural entity, rule or event which does not really exist.

So, yes those beliefs can be useful.

The question is whether having NO superstitions is more useful than having superstitions. I would maintain that it is, for the following reason:

  1. If you have one superstition, you necessarily accept an unfalsifiable hypothesis.
  2. Once you do that, you have no reason to refute any number of other unfalsifiable hypotheses.
  3. So now you have a dilemma at your hands: Either you accept them all, which is impossible because some will contradict each other (and some are just... too woowoo even for the most fervent believer), or you reject some without any reason.
  4. So you have to be inconsistent.
  5. A consistent worldview in general is more useful than an inconsistent one, because it has a higher chance to adequately describe reality.
So superstitions always lead to a worldview that is less useful than one without superstitions.

Another way of asking is, why is it wrong for people to believe in superstitions? Why wouldn't it make sense given the context and culture of the people who use them?
Click to expand...

It does make sense to them, and it is not *morally* wrong. But it is not the most useful way, except perhaps for strong social pressure (it is better to believe in Jesus if you're a european in the middle ages).
 
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