I find it hard to imagine just how different my entire experience of the world and my place in it would be if I had a different worldview. I’ve never really believed in God, definitely not seriously, but surely everything would feel different if I thought it was all for the best, or part of a great plan, or only temporary, on my way to something more real and important. As opposed to believing that it’s all arbitrary and there is no reason behind existence, no design.
Or if I thought that the best days of humanity were long in the past, and that we’d never again reach the heights achieved by our ancestors. Or I was in the middle ages and thought the Greeks were the best we’d ever do. As opposed to living at the middle of an exponential increase in GDP, and progress is commonplace.
Or I thought that I’d live a normal life, and planning for retirement made sense, or even being able to answer the question of where I want to see myself in five years. As opposed to expecting a singularity to either destroy or transform the world before I’m 40.
How much do these background beliefs control what we can think, or what we can feel?
I find it hard to imagine just how different my entire experience of the world and my place in it would be if I had a different worldview. I’ve never really believed in God, definitely not seriously, but surely everything would feel different if I thought it was all for the best, or part of a great plan, or only temporary, on my way to something more real and important. As opposed to believing that it’s all arbitrary and there is no reason behind existence, no design.
Or if I thought that the best days of humanity were long in the past, and that we’d never again reach the heights achieved by our ancestors. Or I was in the middle ages and thought the Greeks were the best we’d ever do. As opposed to living at the middle of an exponential increase in GDP, and progress is commonplace.
Or I thought that I’d live a normal life, and planning for retirement made sense, or even being able to answer the question of where I want to see myself in five years. As opposed to expecting a singularity to either destroy or transform the world before I’m 40.
How much do these background beliefs control what we can think, or what we can feel?