Delmarva Today 8-27-21
“How Beliefs Change” is the second in Harold Wilson’s special three-part, hour-long program series on beliefs on Delmarva Today In the first program, posted July 30, Wilson and his guests discussed what beliefs are, how they are formed, and the role they play in our thinking and our actions. In this second program on “Beliefs,” Wilson looks at how beliefs change, and the role rationality plays in prompting and supporting change. My guests, returning for this second program, are Dr. Adam Wood, Department Head, and Professor of English at Valdosta State University; Dr. Grant Wilson, Professor and Graduate Program Director Dept. of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts; and Dr. Christine A. James, Professor Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies also at Valdosta State University.
We would all like to believe that our beliefs, our perceptions of the world in which we live, and move, and act, are based on principals of rationality. But according to Joshua Rothman in his New Yorker article “Thinking it Through,” in the August 23, 2021 issue, the realities of rationality are difficult and not really enough. If rationality is not enough, what are other elements that should be considered as our beliefs are challenged and changed?
“How Beliefs Change,” offers a definition of “rational beliefs” and how, particularly in the realm of science, they have evolved and changed over the years. In fact, there is as analytical methodology for analyzing new scientific theories and structures widely accepted in the scientific community called Bayesian reasoning. Wilson’s guests describe this reasoning method based on the work of Thomas Bayes, an eighteenth-century mathematician, and minister. They ask whether this method of approaching new or contradictory information might be appropriate for new cultural information that challenges our beliefs.
From there, the discussions turns to “irrational beliefs,” with suggestions for how they might be defined and addressed. Not surprising, there some healthy, push and pull on the nature and confrontation of irrational beliefs. The revelations are fascinating and underscore the complexities of rationality.
There is one other element discussed that might be the key to rationality. It has roots in Bayesian reasoning as well as Socratic approaches, and in existential philosophy. Listen to the discussion to find out what it is.