Belief engine running amok
In the June 23, 2011 issue of Nature (available online only to subscribers), A. C. Grayling reviews Michael Shermer's new book, The Believing Brain (2011). He notes Shermer's double-barreled explanation for why humans are so ready and willing to believe things that aren't true:
One is the brain's readiness to perceive patterns even in random phenomena. The other is its readiness to nominate agency--intentional action--as the cause of natural events. Both explain belief-formation in general, not just religious or super naturalistic belief.I've written about Michael Shermer before at this website, mentioning, as does Grayling, that Shermer "gives the names 'patternicity' and 'agenticity' to the brain's pattern-seeking and agency-attributing propensities . . ." Once these beliefs are somewhat established in one's mind, it's difficult to turn back, due to the confirmation bias, which blinds us to evidence contrary to our beliefs and makes evidence supporting our beliefs extra salient. [caption id="attachment_19088" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image by Erich Vieth using Dreamstime Image by FourOaks with permission"]
