| Beliefs Govern Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth (Mark Robert Waldman) - Highlight Loc. 133-37 | Added on Thursday, June 25, 2009, 02:14 PM The study of human beliefs often raises unsettling issues, since most people are not aware that many of our beliefs are based on incomplete assumptions about the world. How, then, can beliefs be so powerful that they can heal us, or so destructive that they can cause us to suffer and die? This question has haunted philosophers, theologians, and politicians for a long time, and I myself have struggled to answer it for most of my medical career. For me, it all began with my own questions about the nature of reality and God. ========== Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth (Mark Robert Waldman) - Highlight Loc. 168-70 | Added on Thursday, June 25, 2009, 02:19 PM As we evolved, beliefs, even superstitious ones, allowed our ancestors to make sense out of an incomprehensible, dangerous world. Their assumptions may not have been accurate, but their beliefs reduced their fears and imparted values that would facilitate group cohesiveness. ========== Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth (Mark Robert Waldman) - Highlight Loc. 195-98 | Added on Thursday, June 25, 2009, 02:28 PM Food manufacturers present their products in similar ways. For example, many labels state that the ingredients in a product are “all natural.” As far as the Food and Drug Administration is concerned, this simply means that the product contains no metal, plastic, or other synthetic material. “Natural” does not mean “healthy” or “organic,” but as advertisers know, such pseudoscientific jargon can dramatically increase a product’s sales. ========== Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth (Mark Robert Waldman) - Highlight Loc. 233-34 | Added on Thursday, June 25, 2009, 02:36 PM Fear, anxiety, and doubt also contribute to the placebo effect, but in a negative way, creating disbelief that can interfere with the healing processes of the body. Next |
Manipulation of Humans by Beliefs
 | |  | |  | |  |