When I post some article or video on FaceBook about GMOs being safe, Homeopathy being a fraud, Chiropractic being pseudoscience, Gluten sensitivity being an imagined condition, or anything else from my list I invariably get people who disagree with me and instead of giving me a argument to support their case based on real supporting scientific evidence I get a statement like:
“Well I like it and it makes me feel good”.
I grow so frustrated when I hear an arguement like that thinking just how or why should I change my mind, change my thinking, after hearing that?
Sam Harris has said:
The fact that it would be nice if something were true, or the fact of your believing it to be true gives you some positive effect in your life is NOT a reason to believe that it is true.
Humans Are Great at Arguing but Bad at Reasoning. Here’s Why.
“The colloquial definition of rationality, the way that most people actually use the word, is to mean ‘whatever I happen to believe.'” Julia Galef is the president and co-founder of the Center for Applied Rationality, a Berkeley, California-based non-profit whose workshops teach participants to apply the lessons of cognitive science and rationality to their lives.