The obvious next question is, why should we care what people believe so long as they conform to act within the range of behavior standards agreed upon by our now-global tribe? E.g. not suicide bombers.
The obvious next question, somewhat after that, is, is there an end to next questions?
N.B. not sarcastic here, seriously asking both questions. Forgive me if I’ve not done enough coverage of this site to encounter such discussion. Pointers welcome.
1) Because beliefs matter; a world where people are epistemically rational is, ceteris paribus, better than a world in which they are not.
2) Because you can’t just shield off all your beliefs from the real world. You can try, and thereby make them almost not beliefs at all; but as long as they reside in your brain, they are moving neurotransmitters around in ways that they should not be moved. For example, consider how the idea of immortality affects the way people view existential risks: If you believe, or even suspect, that you might live forever in Heaven after you die, you’ll be just a little bit less inclined to worry about that plague, that asteroid, that cascade of Von Neumann machines. Maybe not a lot less—but a little less, and that could make all the difference.
The obvious next question is, why should we care what people believe so long as they conform to act within the range of behavior standards agreed upon by our now-global tribe? E.g. not suicide bombers.
The obvious next question, somewhat after that, is, is there an end to next questions?
N.B. not sarcastic here, seriously asking both questions. Forgive me if I’ve not done enough coverage of this site to encounter such discussion. Pointers welcome.
1) Because beliefs matter; a world where people are epistemically rational is, ceteris paribus, better than a world in which they are not.
2) Because you can’t just shield off all your beliefs from the real world. You can try, and thereby make them almost not beliefs at all; but as long as they reside in your brain, they are moving neurotransmitters around in ways that they should not be moved. For example, consider how the idea of immortality affects the way people view existential risks: If you believe, or even suspect, that you might live forever in Heaven after you die, you’ll be just a little bit less inclined to worry about that plague, that asteroid, that cascade of Von Neumann machines. Maybe not a lot less—but a little less, and that could make all the difference.