I'm not sure if this has been asked yet, sorry if it has, but what do you all think about whether or not we "choose" what we believe? I suppose you can compartmentalize something in order to believe it when it doesnt agree with something else, doublethink you know or denial, but really, if we know the truth can we actually believe something else?
I know a guy whose always hounding me for not believing the way he does, and tells me I can decided to believe or not and my response is, when I know (or think I know) the truth how can I "believe" anything else? Even if I try to compartmentalize or something to accept 2 contradicting ideas, there is still some major unbelief going on hence why I would need to do that. I think that, deep down, you believe what you believe and you can't do a anything to change that.

Mod note: edited for swearing and religious reference.

I'll assume the basic gist of your question was not lost during mod editing.

"if we know the truth can we actually believe something else?"

From what I've seen so far, the only constant is that things can and do change - including minds, beliefs and truths.


another way to look at your question is to ask:

"if we already have a belief, can we actually know the truth?"

"Beliefs are fine... I just think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. People fight for them; people die for them... people take a good idea and ruin it by making a belief structure out of it."

One of my favorite philosophical movie lines that just seemed to fit this thread perfectly.

The main thing I got from my study in philosophy is , imo, belief and truth are oxymorons. These concepts themselves are never truly attainable. We only have theories that haven't been disproved yet .

edit- well belief is attainable but whether or not the belief is correct is unattainable. Do truths make our beliefs or do our beliefs make truths? Both? Neither?

Faith, hope, and love. Three things I believe in deeply tht I cannot see,touch, or prove that exist.

Brian, nothing wrong with that, but I would change these a bit and label them as things I feel. The reality of which I am secure in. The question would be then, why do you feel what you feel? And it's all good.

fear of death has proved that is possible. At the 11th hour, many people turn to beliefs they haven't believed in their whole lives. In psychology, it's described as a form of barganing.
Is it genuine? I'll let you know on my deathbed.

To be precise, in the realm of beliefs, I suspect the fear of death is really fear of death of ego.

'There are no aethiests in fox holes'

I guess fear can make a person believe anything, if the belief alleviates their fear, whether it's true or not.