Having a belief

[luckyme]

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If people actually believed in god 24/7 there is no way to explain their actions. If we consider that beliefs only surface in response to stimulation/probes then their actions are understandable.

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If you can justify this you have gone a long way to proving your point, I think. It seems like an overly ambitious claim, but I'm listening...



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If I had a camera crew following George 24/7 and filming George from all angles under these conditions - If he behaves well and believes the camera crew is there they will give him billion $ at yearend. If he screws up they will squish him like a sidewalk worm.
What's your prediction of Georges behavior?

Mine is he'll follow the guidelines because he'll always believe the crew is there holding a bag of money. Georges brother Snorge, otoh, says he believes a crew is watching him when we ask, but his behavior indicates he must have times when he doesn't think so ( they're a hidden crew).

Since theists don't follow the guidelines, they're like Snorge and don't believe 24/7 that the omniscient camera crew with an infinite reward is watching them, hammer ready.
Realizing that beliefs are conjured up makes sense of the evidence we have and fits with brain/mind modularity and false memory and Capgras syndrome, etc.
What it doesn't fit with is the non-evidenced concept that beliefs are something we 'have'.

I'm not following why we should think an emergent property is omnipresent. We don't use that line in other cases .. sex kitten gives me an erection, does that mean while typing this "luckyme has an erection" because I will have one given the right circumstances?

I wasn't thinking in theist terms for the OP, rather any old belief... New York is big, Everest is high.

luckyme