True Believers and the Brain
Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:25 pm
One of my favorite topics is why and how we believe... more and more we are learning the neurological component to belief.
It seems belief is an actual "hard wiring" sort of phenomenon in the brain.
What Eric Hoffer describes is now being confirmed in a very physical and concrete way.
In Andrew Newberg's book, Born to Believe, he writes,
Also, in some fascinating research at Emory, using fMRIs to study brain activity, looking at how our "political brains" work, Drew Western, director of clinical psychology concludes, "essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and the activation of positive ones."
And finally, a quote from an article in SHIFT, summarizing the research, "And so it appears that we avoid the discomfort of contradictory facts when they challenge a particular decision or belief - denial equals emotional homeostasis. This observation has a strong bearing on how one confronts an existing world view and considers ways to change it."
So, while we are learning of the hard-wiring component, my question is, what makes some people able to release long held beliefs while others cannot? It seems that be far, the easier and more "normal" way to live is to continue to believe and those who are able to release belief are the rare exception?
I would love to hear your thoughts and ask that the discussion expand beyond just the LDS mindset if possible. (I think the same dynamics that keep believers in the LDS church are those that keep people in JW, Scientology, Catholicism, EV, or any other religion, and the same factors that allow people to release belief in the LDS church are those that allow the release of belief in other religions, but if you disagree feel free to share your thoughts)!
Also, what do you think enabled you to release belief (if you have done so) while others do not? Or if you are a believer, do you think those who release belief in a religion have some sort of neurological abnormality or something? And, given that there is a neurological hard wiring to belief, how much of belief is a choice?
(I hold that belief is not just a choice due to the fact that I have yet to hear anyone who can choose to believe the Santa story is true). :-)
What are the implications of the inability of some to release damaging or untrue beliefs to society? In some respects I think this hard wiring process has become maladaptive given that some beliefs may in fact be those that can potentially destroy our world. Might it be important for us to learn the dynamics and process of releasing beliefs that are clearly untrue and damaging?
Any thoughts or insights?
~dancer~
It seems belief is an actual "hard wiring" sort of phenomenon in the brain.
What Eric Hoffer describes is now being confirmed in a very physical and concrete way.
In Andrew Newberg's book, Born to Believe, he writes,
"The brain is a stubborn organ. Once its primary set of beliefs has been established, the brain finds it difficult to interact opposing ideas and beliefs. This has profound consequences for individuals and society and helps to explain why some people cannot abandon destructive beliefs, be they religious, political, or psychological."
Also, in some fascinating research at Emory, using fMRIs to study brain activity, looking at how our "political brains" work, Drew Western, director of clinical psychology concludes, "essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and the activation of positive ones."
And finally, a quote from an article in SHIFT, summarizing the research, "And so it appears that we avoid the discomfort of contradictory facts when they challenge a particular decision or belief - denial equals emotional homeostasis. This observation has a strong bearing on how one confronts an existing world view and considers ways to change it."
So, while we are learning of the hard-wiring component, my question is, what makes some people able to release long held beliefs while others cannot? It seems that be far, the easier and more "normal" way to live is to continue to believe and those who are able to release belief are the rare exception?
I would love to hear your thoughts and ask that the discussion expand beyond just the LDS mindset if possible. (I think the same dynamics that keep believers in the LDS church are those that keep people in JW, Scientology, Catholicism, EV, or any other religion, and the same factors that allow people to release belief in the LDS church are those that allow the release of belief in other religions, but if you disagree feel free to share your thoughts)!
Also, what do you think enabled you to release belief (if you have done so) while others do not? Or if you are a believer, do you think those who release belief in a religion have some sort of neurological abnormality or something? And, given that there is a neurological hard wiring to belief, how much of belief is a choice?
(I hold that belief is not just a choice due to the fact that I have yet to hear anyone who can choose to believe the Santa story is true). :-)
What are the implications of the inability of some to release damaging or untrue beliefs to society? In some respects I think this hard wiring process has become maladaptive given that some beliefs may in fact be those that can potentially destroy our world. Might it be important for us to learn the dynamics and process of releasing beliefs that are clearly untrue and damaging?
Any thoughts or insights?
~dancer~