Quote:
Originally Posted by Inzaghi
Bertrand Russell once said that "there can't be any practical reason for believing in what isn't true." Source: Skip to 15 seconds on the following video.
Why is he wrong? What are the so-called obvious reasons?
Ambiguity, lack of certainty, a feeling of love without specifics, a high purpose (again without specifics), a feeling of belonging in a meaningful system, a belief that life isn't meaningless or final, the promotion of selflessness, all have good side effects.
Whether they're ultimately net good or bad in the big picture is beyond me to answer, but sometimes (often) life doesn't fit with what we emotionally and philosophically need to function and thrive as humans or as groups of humans, so believing things that aren't true - or at least giving weight to their possibility - can help.
In the modern worlds with our comforts and safeties and predictabilities, the need for a lot of these false beliefs is diminished. We've managed through technology to make life fit better with our emotional/spiritual needs.