I value truth. I want my model of reality to match actual reality as closely as possible. I am convinced that the more my model of reality matches actual reality the better off I will be.
To define better off briefly: Pleasure is generally preferable to pain. Life is generally preferable to death. Good health is generally preferable to illness. Wealth is generally preferable to poverty. Et cetera.
I am sceptical because I know that if I simply accept propositions without analysis my risk of accepting and believing things that are not true increases. Conversely, if I don't readily accept propositions but instead attempt to verify them and falsify them against empirical observation and experiencial evidence I decrease my risk of believing believing things that are false.
The fewer false things I believe the better off I will be. I can think of many examples where believing true things can be beneficial to my overall well-being, but I cannot think of any instances where believing false things can be beneficial to my overall well-being.
A proposition that I cannot verify through empirical evidence et cetera, I do not accept by default. I do not make the claim that said proposition is false, because if it cannot be verified then that means it cannot be falsified. If it cannot be falsified then I cannot be rationally justified in believing that it is positively not true. That is where "I don't know" becomes the answer.
(Aside : I thought about the benefits of HADD, hyperactive agency detection device and how it could be beneficial to believe that there is a predator in the bushes when there is not... However, believing that isn't beneficial to well-being because there was no danger to begin with. And without the HADD believing that there isn't a predator when there actually is one increases the danger and is definitely not beneficial to well-being.)
The questions I have are as follows:
Do you value truth?
Can you think of a scenario in which believing false things can be beneficial for your overall well-being?
Why would you believe something for which there is no way to determine whether or not it is true?
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