✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

Belief as Attire — LessWrong

lesswrong.com · 8,589 words · saved by 1 readers

I have so far distinguished between belief as anticipation-controller, belief in belief, professing and cheering. Of these, we might call anticipation-controlling beliefs "proper beliefs" and the other forms "improper belief". Proper belief can be wrong or irrational, as when someone genuinely anticipates that prayer will cure their sick baby. But the other forms are arguably “not belief at all.” Yet another form of improper belief is belief as group identification—as a way of belonging. Robin Hanson uses the excellent metaphor of wearing unusual clothing, a group uniform like a priest’s vestments or a Jewish skullcap, and so I will call this “belief as attire.” In terms of humanly realistic psychology, the Muslims who flew planes into the World Trade Center undoubtedly saw themselves as heroes defending truth, justice, and the Islamic Way from hideous alien monsters a la the movie Independence Day. Only a very inexperienced nerd, the sort of nerd who has no idea how non-nerds see the

x Belief as Attire — LessWrong Fake Beliefs Tribalism Motivated Reasoning Motivations Social Reality Rationality Frontpage 175 Belief as Attire by Eliezer Yudkowsky 2nd Aug 2007 2 min read 106 175 I have so far distinguished between belief as anticipation-controller , belief in belief , professing and cheering . Of these, we might call anticipation-controlling beliefs "proper beliefs" and the other forms "improper belief". Proper belief can be wrong or irrational, as when someone genuinely anticipates that prayer will cure their sick baby. But the other forms are arguably “not belief at all.”

Explore this link on the map →

related reading