There is a general misapprehension that people are disinclined to say or believe things that are not true.
However, it seems that people are often motivated to say or believe things for a variety of different reasons, operating singly or in combination.
For the Sake of a Good Story
We all participate in the “willing suspension of disbelief” that is necessary in order to appreciate a story that is being told.
To Please Oneself
Some beliefs are inherently pleasing to the believer: the belief that I am intelligent, talented and modest; a belief in a just, well-ordered universe; the belief that the sun will rise again tomorrow.
For Personal Gain
If a person or group will somehow benefit by having others believe in something (the efficacy of a product or service they are selling, for example), then they will tend to assert that position, and often to come to believe it themselves.
To Avoid Confusion, Uncertainty and Disorientation
Life is a confusing business, and it sometimes seems safer to hang on to any sort of opinion, rather than to admit one doesn’t know, and to have to open one’s mind to a dizzying array of possibilities.
To Promote Social Cohesion
If a group is defined in terms of a set of shared beliefs, then acceptance of these shared beliefs may be a prerequisite for membership, or may simply help to maintain and promote the continued existence and growth of the group.
To Avoid Conflict
Even if I don’t believe something to be true, I may accept a statement without challenge, if to do otherwise would cause division and strife, especially between two powerful groups. This is typical of religious beliefs, for example, when multiple religions co-exist in a shared cultural space.
As A Working Hypothesis
People sometimes adopt a position as a sort of working hypothesis, treating an assertion as if were true until it is proven otherwise.
For Accurate Predictive Power
This is generally what we mean by “truth”: if something is true, then it should help us predict what will happen in the future.
Note that, for many people, all of these except the last — accurate predictive power — tend to support a belief in God.
It is also worth noting that all of these reasons for belief tend to be operative in the case of corporate accounting scandals such as the one at Enron.
Relevant Quotations from Portable Wisdom
- Dashiell Hammett | A Dizzy Business
