A Story of Belief

Recently, I had a conversation with an individual that illustrates one aspect of our discussion. A high school teacher by profession, he was a comfortable member of the upper middle class. We were discussing casually UFOs and the claims that some people made that they had seen ETs and had even visited with them on their saucers. He added at this point that he had no doubt that they had done so, but that it made no difference to him since it did not affect him directly. "The government keeps a lot of things from us", he added. I then suggested that this was like believing in ghosts. To which the reply was that they probably existed too. But again he thought that he had no reason to think about what did not involve him directly. I should add that he is a religious believer and attends church regularly. He tells me, however, that he is not interested in the sermons. He only wants to take the opportunity to worship.

Thus, he does not so much have belief in religion as a faith that would be immune to argument. The earlier discussion of ghosts and ETs suggests that his interest in the world around him is restricted to what he directly experiences. He does not want to be confused by information outside these limits. His remarks also suggest two other aspects of his belief structure. First, in many areas he does not embed incoming information and argument in context or structure. He applies neither rational nor consistency tests. His answers also suggest a paranoid style of thinking that is all too common. The paranoid personality assumes that we are surrounded by great, unresistable, and inexplicable forces (in this case the government) that are able to control the flow of information in ways that truly totalitarian governments have only dreamed of. Yet here is a happy, well adjusted individual that functions at a high level.