0.4.6 Beliefs as the Basis for Action

Version 1.0 March 2013                 Previous Version

The Reasonable Global Way described here is not just intellectual learning, or passive contemplation, or spiritual awareness, but leads on logically to choices that reflect our values, guides our personal behaviour, and provide standards for political institutions.

Life is often difficult.

Science, technology and management are advancing too rapidly for most of us to follow, generating cheap consumer goods, and cheaper entertainment (less costly as well as often poorer quality).  To many people it seems as though society deals with people, culture, and everything else, as though we are just here to be analysed and exploited, and nothing has intrinsic value. 

Many people feel overwhelmed by change, insignificant in society, insignificant in the universe, and feel as though they have nothing to hold on to that provides some stability. 

We need some way to focus attention on what is real, what we really can value, and what we can honestly support and promote, what unites rather than divides us.

We have to make choices on how to respond – or not respond.

Many decisions are difficult.

Some choices we can justify as obviously appropriate.  Some choices we can justify as conforming to some general guidelines even though the particular situation we are in is complex.  Some choices have to be made between conflicting values and guidelines. Sometimes we are forced to make choices, regardless of how little information we have, regardless of whether it is possible to have reasonable beliefs to underlie our choices. 

Making choices is different from holding beliefs. We can suspend judgement on a belief, but we can almost never stop taking some action or inaction, and all action implies choice, and all choices reflect what we actually value and tentatively believe.