0.4 The Nature of “Beliefs�

Version 1.0 March 2013                                               Previous Version

This chapter is about what “beliefs� are, rather than the content of what we believe.

Some people will say it is impossible to assemble a set of global beliefs or that it would be futile or misleading.  We need to briefly counter the arguments they might raise.

Many critics will also think that “beliefs� are:

·  What people hold, perhaps on faith alone, despite reason and the evidence, or

·  Arbitrary choices people make when there is uncertain or conflicting evidence, or

·  Generally, what people hold, when they don't really “knowâ€�. 

So we need to clarify what we mean by “beliefs� in these pages.

In the detail sections for this chapter we have a few paragraphs each explaining that:

●    Our beliefs aren’t fixed or dogmatic: they are tentative and corrigible (can be changed).

●    Our beliefs aren’t based on faith alone: they are consistent with reason and the evidence.

●    We are stating our beliefs assertively, in a structured way, trying to avoid ambiguity.

●    We focus here on beliefs that have the potential to change our behaviour.