Normal people believe in the strangest things. About half of US adults endorse at least one conspiracy theory. Belief in paranormal or supernatural phenomena is widespread, and superstition and magical thinking are nearly universal.Surprisingly large numbers of people also hold beliefs that a psychiatrist would class as delusional. In 2011, psychologist Peter Halligan at Cardiff University assessed how common such beliefs were in the UK.
He found that more than 90 per cent of people held at least one. They included the belief that a celebrity is secretly in love with them, that they are not in control of some of their actions, and that people say or do things that contain special autismmessages for them (Psychopathology, vol 44, p 106). None of Halligan’s subjects were troubled by their strange beliefs. Nonetheless, the fact that they are so common suggests that the “feeling of rightness” that accompanies belief is not always a reliable guide to reality. (Graham Lawton, deputy editor of the New Scientist).
I know someone whose life is governed by astrology. There are people who believe that if the very first thing you say on the first of the month are the words “white rabbits”, it’s going to be a lucky month. But at least these, along with dozens of similar beliefs around the world, are harmless. More troublesome is the firm belief among huge numbers of Americans that the government is plotting to take away their guns, or that innoculating your child will result in autism. I believe that the philosophy of Epicurus is humane and rational, but maybe to some this is weird, too?
What’s needed to dispel these myths is education. People should be taught from a young age about the dangers of supernaturalism, and believing in things for which there is no evidence for. Of course irrationalities will never be eradicated entirely, but we can reduce them to a level where they have no profound impact on society as a whole.
In delivering this education, we must be careful not to politicise it. The last thing we need is conservative parents objecting to this teaching on the basis of its progressive bias; on the contrary, some irrationalities are believed by the Left and should be exposed just as vigorously. Education should be a place for free and open debate, where the facts are readily available. Then people will come to conclusions based on sound logic and reasoning.