Oct 29 2009
Reason, Belief and Complexity
While listening to a debate on healthcare, I came to this question again – at what point an issue becomes complicated enough that people resort to their belief/faith and abandon reason altogether?
Apparently, this is a gradual process -
1. If the issue is simple enough, or there are only a few deciding factors, simple reasoning (”good common sense”) would prevail. E.g. political grandstanding don’t always work.
2. When the issue getting more complex, there are more and more competing factors, biased reasoning started to kick in. People only listen to things they like to listen and argue with arguments become self-reinforcing (what is that term for this?) E.g. cable talk shows, healthcare, etc.
3. When the issue becomes too complex, it is all about beliefs and faith. There is little room for reason. It is no longer in the secular domain. E.g. religion, etc.
This ought to be an interesting question since there are only a few variables involved. And it is a very relevant question, particularly in democracy.