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I have an intuition that there's somehow a metaphysical power that brings order into the world. But, I am not sure if such thing can be logically or objectively proved. So, I think that any specific belief is just kind of intuitive guess. So, the question is: how it comes that many people holds an arbitrary belief that would effectively influence all aspects of their lives based only on their intuition that they can't explain to even themselves?

Abdo92 4 Sep 29
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0

Just be an atheist it solves all these problems.

1

I was a die-hard Christian for 40 years then got to a point about where you seem to be. It was temporary and evidence became more important until I identified as atheist and just settled into it. Perhaps your in transition.

gearl Level 8 Sep 29, 2018

Yeah, I am mostly in that phase 🙂

0

I thought you were an atheist?

actually I am not sure what exactly to call myself. But maybe agnostic would be more relevant

@MichaelSpinler
I know

1

Perhaps it is cognitive dissonance that "intuitively" pushes our minds to find patterns in the universe including, for example, patterns in clouds where none really exist. We are more comfortable making sense out the world than living in a nonsensical world, and so we do.

1

I have that same intuition. The nature of that power is a dazzling mystery, and as you say, it’s not anything that can be proven.

Maybe it’s a mistake to objectify that power. Maybe that power is us collectively.

1

"So, the question is: how it comes that many people holds an arbitrary belief that would effectively influence all aspects of their lives based only on their intuition that they can't explain to even themselves?"

It expresses a desire, the wish for an explanation. We can't stop asking questions, and we will not stop until we have answers. Some people believe they have the answers, others keeping asking many of the same questions...

and the Tralfamadorians say "so it goes".

cava Level 7 Sep 29, 2018
1

It’s a religious fallacy that there is order in the world and the universe for that matter. The reality is violence and chaos.

Maybe

1

Think Pavlov's dog... It's called conditioning.

I have just read about this theory. Can you elaborate on how you relate this idea to that behaviour?

@Abdo92 Ivan Pavlov trained dogs to salivate when they heard a bell ring. The process was basically... Ring a bell before feeding time. After a while the dogs get used to hearing the bell ring and they KNOW what it means... So they start salivating. Pretty soon... They started salivating as soon as the bell rang even if they weren't fed.

So, perhaps I am incorrect.... I guess I am speaking more of conditioning instead of intuition.

0

This world, with abused children, desparate refugees, exploitation, mass killings, rampant hunger, etc etc etc, appears to you to have "order"???!!!! Really?

I see your point. Maybe it's not easy to explain as we need first to agree on a specific definition of 'order' before going further

1

Well, we are our own gods, so I believe in myself.

Physics indicates that we are participating in creating our own universes/reality.

“Consciousness is fundamental, and matter is derived from consciousness." – Max Planck, theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics

Quote:

“A fundamental conclusion of the new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a “mental” construction.

Pioneering physicist Sir James Jeans wrote: “The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter.

Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual.” – R.C. Henry, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University , “The Mental Universe” ; Nature

I agree so much with these premises but I can't agree with your initial conclusion to consider ourselves as being our own gods! We seem to be just part of the process but an active part. That's it. What I can generalize from this is that the answers of these metaphysical questions are still unreachable. It has a different nature from what science can explore and study. They can't be experimentally or numerically validated. However, they're still important questions to be answered. Since these answers, I think, have a lot to do with the meaning a man apply to his own life!

@Abdo92 I'm not going to argue with you, but it's obvious you prefer your own opinion to physics. Go ahead and play victim to the universe..it's YOUR choice, after all, since you're the god of your own universe.

@birdingnut
It's not like that 🙂 what I mean is that science has it's own domain which is separate from metaphysics. So, all the opinions of scientists on matters like these are just their own interpretations of the scientific theories. They shall be reagreded more as philosophers than as scientists when it comes to answering such questions.

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