Economists Writing Every Day wrote a post about Persistent Beliefs that caught my attention.
Essentially, for beliefs to persist they must:
Be transferred from generation to generation;
Persist within the person as well as their culture group; and,
Be productive.
I’m reflecting now…
I’ve done so many things in my life, good and bad. I’ve seen so many things. Heard so many things. Tasted so many things… believed so many things. I don’t know that I have many beliefs that truly persist for me.
I am not influenced by the beliefs of my family. I realize that sounds harsh and, possibly sad. However, it’s not sad for me. I don’t have kids, and there’s no need for me to adopt or persist with a belief for the purposes of passing it on.
I am not influenced by the beliefs of the religion I grew up with. I’ve seen there are many other gods, and many other ways to connect one’s self with something higher.
I seem to be most influenced by things I read, or how I perceive the moment I’m in. Given new inputs, I make Bayesian updates to my worldview and move on.
If I have any persistent belief… it is a belief in some type of universal human truth. That we all have a desire for someone to believe in us, and we all desire to matter to someone(s) or something(s).
That truth persists through time and transcends culture.