What Do You Really Believe? What Do You Really Believe?
i
Daniel Mróz – drawing from the archives (no. 1626/1969)
Experiences

What Do You Really Believe?

Take the Truth-Demon Test
Keith Frankish
Reading
time 5 minutes

Most of us have views on politics, current events, religion, society, morality and sport, and we spend a lot of time expressing these views, whether in conversation or on social media. We argue for our positions, and get annoyed if they are challenged. Why do we do this? The obvious answer is that we believe the views we express (ie, we think they are true), and we want to get others to believe them too, because they are true. We want the truth to prevail. That’s how it seems. But do we really believe everything we say? Are you always trying to establish the truth when you argue, or might there be other motives at work?

These questions might seem strange, offensive even. Am I suggesting that you are insincere or hypocritical in your views? No – at least I’m not suggesting that you are consciously so. But you might be unconsciously influenced by concerns other than truth. Nowadays, most psychologists agree that rapid, unconscious mental processes (sometimes called ‘System 1’ processes) play a huge role in guiding our behaviour. These processes are not thought of as Freudian ones, involving repressed memories and desires, but as ordinary, everyday judgments, motives and

Information

You’ve reached your free article’s limit this month. You can get unlimited access to all our articles and audio content with our digital subscription. If you have an active subscription, please log in.

Subscribe

Also read:

When Will You Die? When Will You Die?
Variety

When Will You Die?

Personality Test
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Take the personality quiz to confirm whether you’re still alive.

1. How do you feel right now? Choose the best answer.

a. Right now, I feel nothing. (+)

Continue reading