From False Beliefs to Collective Delusions

Le résumé fourni par la source

False beliefs have always been with us and will remain so. The human mind and consciousness evolved not so much to discover objective reality but rather to promote the creation of highly cohesive groups, our primary means of survival, often at the cost of ignoring reality the better to develop binding group ideologies. False beliefs become of concern when they develop into consensual delusions that drive intergroup conflict such as fascism and Marxism and cause political polarisation, as is often the case today. In this introductory chapter, the nature and origins of false beliefs are explored, with special focus on the historical prevalence of false beliefs and the ubiquity of delusional beliefs in our age, including in academia. The question of how true and false beliefs can be distinguished is addressed, and the role of the limits of human rationality in fostering the spread of false beliefs are discussed. The influence of visceral, sub-rational brain processes such as the functions of the autonomic, instinctive and associative systems on false beliefs are explored, and the critical role of in-group preference and conformity in creating and maintaining false beliefs is examined. The current dangerous spread of delusional beliefs, even by highly educated and cognitively competent people in academia, receives special attention, and the chapter concludes with a brief summary of the contents of the book.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.