If I can find reasons for having beliefs that makes life more interesting than a purely scientific and materialistic worldview, I usually let them deceive me as much as possible as such beliefs are beneficial to my enjoyment of life.
The idea that a god exist is not all that illogical in itself (since every other theory of origin is just as crazy), but if you asked if I believed in, say, Christianity, then no.
Praying works, for the same reason that visualization works. It’s a placebo effect which cases self-fulfilling prophecies by priming the brain towards a specific target and giving us the belief that it’s possible to reach said target. The belief that something is possible makes it much more likely that we find a solution when a solution exists (There’s many articles on this idea on both LW and Gwern’s site, but I can’t remember any titles right now). This idea is often called “the law of attraction” and considered paranormal by people who don’t know how it works.
I don’t personally believe in god, but I try to believe in something, and this something lacks a word, so “god” usually suffices. What it means is merely is something human is mixed together with the mechanical and indifferent. A purpose, an intention, a reason, or a bias. Anything beyond an indifferent and senseless chain of cause and effects which appeared for no reason whatsoever.
I can’t speak for other people, but I expect that there’s many diverse takes on your question. There’s not one specific group, but a lot of scattered viewpoints. There might be clusters in god-related-beliefs-space, but I expect those to be clusters of regular religious people
If I can find reasons for having beliefs that makes life more interesting than a purely scientific and materialistic worldview, I usually let them deceive me as much as possible as such beliefs are beneficial to my enjoyment of life.
The idea that a god exist is not all that illogical in itself (since every other theory of origin is just as crazy), but if you asked if I believed in, say, Christianity, then no.
Praying works, for the same reason that visualization works. It’s a placebo effect which cases self-fulfilling prophecies by priming the brain towards a specific target and giving us the belief that it’s possible to reach said target. The belief that something is possible makes it much more likely that we find a solution when a solution exists (There’s many articles on this idea on both LW and Gwern’s site, but I can’t remember any titles right now). This idea is often called “the law of attraction” and considered paranormal by people who don’t know how it works.
I don’t personally believe in god, but I try to believe in something, and this something lacks a word, so “god” usually suffices. What it means is merely is something human is mixed together with the mechanical and indifferent. A purpose, an intention, a reason, or a bias. Anything beyond an indifferent and senseless chain of cause and effects which appeared for no reason whatsoever.
I can’t speak for other people, but I expect that there’s many diverse takes on your question. There’s not one specific group, but a lot of scattered viewpoints. There might be clusters in god-related-beliefs-space, but I expect those to be clusters of regular religious people