Atheists - do you hold any IRRational beliefs?

Question

I don't believe in gods, or magic, or anything supernatural. But nevertheless I labor under the illusion that I can "jinx" myself if I am not careful. Although I know this idea is irrational, and just a way of making myself feel in control of things....I still have it. Surely the majority of us have some irrational beliefs we hold? Do you think maybe the difference between atheists and religious folk is that we can recognize our own unfounded thoughts, while other people prefer the comfort of the illusion?
Or do you think maybe we are being unfair to believers, since we all have our own irrational ideas too?

Answer 1

I still believe in the physical reality even though there is no proof that it exists external to the mind that thinks it sees it.


This is more easily understandable if one considers the actual scale of the components of an atom. If one takes into account the fact that the neutrons, protons and electrons of an atom actually have huge spaces between them it becomes clear that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are made up of 99+ percent empty space.

This alone does not seem too important till you add the idea that the atoms that make up seemingly solid objects are more of a loose conglomeration that share a similar attraction but never really touch each other.

At first glance this does not really seem relevant, but closer analysis reveals that this adds a tremendous amount of empty space to solid objects that are already made up of atoms that are 99 percent space. When so-called solid objects are seen in this light it becomes apparent that they can in no way be the seemingly solid objects they appear to be.

We ourselves are not exceptions to this phenomenon.

These seemingly solid objects are more like ghostly images that we interpret as solid objects based on our perceptual conclusions.

From this we must conclude that Perception is some sort of a trick that helps us to take these ghostly images and turn them into a world we can associate and interact with. This clever device seems to be a creation of our intellect that enables us to interact with each other in what appears to be a three dimensional reality.

I hope that helps to answered your question.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

>Atheists, don't you hold several irrational beliefs yourself? That's entirely possible. But if you think it's true, then you could at least point out which beliefs you think are irrational, so that I can investigate them and properly correct or eliminate them if I find them to be such. >And isn't that a rather secondary issue anyway? Secondary to what? You haven't even provided a context yet. >I'm not a meteorologist, but I do have an opinion on how rain is forme. That doesn't make it irrational.

Answer 3

Interesting question.
I'd say most people fall into the trap of buying into one silly, nonsensical idea or another.
Someone might criticize religion and at the same time believe that 'psychics' are real.
Or maybe they think that Oxy-Clean is the best cleaning product ever....whatever.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm sure there would be many people who would find faults with some of my beliefs. For example, as a Philosophical Anarchist I believe that all authority, religious, political, etc., is a fraud and that the world would be better off without it.
Some might criticize that idea. They might say it is unrealistic, etc.
And maybe they have a point.
But I think they are wrong.
Which just goes to show you that having a strongly held belief is what is really dangerous.
It seems like the stronger your belief is in something and the more unwilling you are to change your mind, the more likely you are to be dead wrong.
So I guess it's all about being flexible.
And having enough guts to say the simple three word sentence - 'I was wrong.'

Answer 4

I think everyone has irrational beliefs, I know I do; I'm aware of some and I'm sure there's loads more I'm unaware of.
I think it's just mankind's lot to clamber towards illusory forms and patterns, so I always try to respect other people's beliefs no matter how silly they seem.
The big difference for me is that religion doesn't respect my agnosticism; why did I have to pray in school? Or why even now should I live by Christian law?
I think sometimes I am unfair to Christians, they're an easy target; but I justify it by telling myself it's just a backlash against their Church's dogma.
And maybe that's an example of my own irrationality for you.

Answer 5

Irrational is very subjective. What I may think to be perfectly normal and sane could be extremely irrational and delusional to others. This the the root cause of the theist vs. atheist debate. But I would have to say, no, I don't hold any irrational beliefs. Anything supernatural is most likely imaginary. I am very materialistic.

Answer 6

I have this silly notion that someday, humans will give up on religion, come to their senses, and realize that the only way to be saved is by helping each other. Then there will be no more war in the name of religion and people will finally be able to concentrate on productive things like growing better crops, curing diseases, feeding the hungry, giving everyone a proper education, and traveling to other planets. Given that humans have never lived this way in the whole of known history, it is easy to see what an irrational belief this is...nevertheless, I stubbornly cling to it.

Answer 7

I don't think I have anything that's a true belief, but I do sometimes do things that represent old superstitions. (Like knock on wood, wish on the first star of the night, throw pennies into a well or fountain, things like that.) I don't really believe in them, but I guess it just sort of amuses me. The only thing that I'm almost superstitious about is when it comes to my husband. He's a police officer, and every evening when he leaves for work I HAVE to say "Have a good night, I love you, be careful." If I forget to say "I love you", or "be careful", then I'll actually wake up in the middle of the night, and call him to say it. It's like I'm almost afraid that if I forget to tell him to be careful, he somehow won't be AS careful, and then something would happen to him. Or the one time I forget to say "I love you", well, I don't even want to say it...

Answer 8

There is nothing irrational about that. Of course you can jinx yourself if you do the wrong things in your life. It can just be which ever way the coin falls.
Good Luck BB

Answer 9

Cool question. I have this weird thing where I always think that if I half-*** my way through something, some kind of "punishment" or "bad" event will happen later. So, I always go back and do it right. LOL How irrational is that?

Answer 10

Yes, I do.

I think men are crap.

I sometimes feel that that men are disappointing from personal experience. But logically speaking, I've only dated a few men in my lifetime. Out of 2.5 billion people, there is a mixture of everything from awesome men to awful men.

I also know that my view of men is subjective and rather irrelevant -- I'll put it aside the instant I meet a man who is interesting and can hold a fun conversation. But for the moment, I'm still clinging to my dislike -- it's the Bridget Jones mentality!

I *like* men, I just don't like them.