Believing by Michael McGuire

Author:Michael McGuire
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781616148300
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2013-08-18T21:00:00+00:00

Four days after sending a draft of this chapter, Greg’s e-mail arrived.

Hi Michael,

The chapter is fascinating but, as you no doubt suspect, I have questions. But first, some of my experiences, which map to your text. I agree that imaginings and beliefs often “pop” into one’s head. Moreover, when I try to figure out what might have caused them I usually fail. I distinguish such moments from what I would call associations. If in walking past a café I imagine that it would be delightful to be sitting there having a conversation with you, that’s an association—I wouldn’t have imagined it unless I passed the café. Such imaginings contrast with head-popping when there is no obvious stimulus—for example, the other day I was walking through the countryside, enjoying the scenery, and out of nowhere I imagined a fix to my 1937 Chevrolet, which is stored in a garage in Boston. Much the same is true with beliefs. They too pop into my head and often at odd times. Usually these are not beliefs that I develop after carefully attending to evidence or, in many instances, ever thought of before.

It’s your distinction between ambiguity and uncertainty that troubles me most. I have read and reread what you’ve said. I’m still uneasy. They seem to overlap more than they are separate. Could they be examples of false categories?

Still, as said, overall a fascinating and very informative chapter —so go with it.

Regards,

Greg

EVOLVED BRAIN SYSTEMS

Belief and divides are products of brain systems that have been undergoing change and refinement for millions of years. A similar history is likely for imagining, mirroring (replicating the brain activities of others), Theory of mind (reading others’ brain states), attributing (assigning attributes to persons and events), and triggering (events initiate specific brain states). Alone or in combinations, they are in part responsible for beliefs and divides. Imaginings, belief, ambiguity, and uncertainty are the topics of this chapter. Mirroring, Theory of mind, attributing, and triggering are discussed in chapters that follow.

IMAGINING

When one of my sons was five, we spent a day at the local zoo. He found it delightful. The chimpanzees entertained us with their tricks. Parrots gave us advice. Giraffes were running back and forth for no obvious reason. The lion looked directly at my son and growled; after a moment of crying and hiding behind me, he recovered. We visited the aquarium, fed ducks and goats, and went for a ride on a pony. On the drive home, he asked if he could live in the zoo with the animals.

Once we were home, he went to his room and soon emerged with a picture of an animal with the body of an elephant, the head of a giraffe, fins of a fish, and feet of a duck.

“Dad, look! It’s my new friend.”

“Let’s see. You’re friend, does it have a name?” I asked.

“Boo, it’s Boo.”

“And what is it?”

“It’s my friend, Boo,” he repeated.

“Did we see an animal that looked like that at the zoo?”

“No, but he’s there.”

Imagining is an

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