Is it wrong to change one's beliefs in the face of coercion?
>>456126
You can't change your "belief", as a belief is not something you willingly choose.
You can however choose whether to make that belief known or not, e.g. when threatened with violence.
>>456141
What makes you think you do not choose your beliefs?
>>456126
Depends on the belief.
>I believe I won't shit my pants today.
>On the contrary, good sir, my ill will and loaded shotgun would have you believe otherwise.
>I... I stand corrected.
>>456155
Well that is certainly one belief. I was more thinking about the kind not related to external events however.
>>456153
Because you don't.
If I tell you that you can walk across the grand canyon, can you "choose" to stop believing in gravity? What if I point a gun at you, would that be a convincing argument?
No, at best you'd pretend to believe me hoping that I don't hurt you, but it's not going to change your belief.
>>456126
beliefs are the opposite of certitudes, so yes, they change day after day for no reason since they are created by the intellect and it is a choice to take seriously the intellect.
once you stop your intellect, you no longer dwell in beliefs, but in certitudes, and those never change [to phrase this in terms of the abstraction which is time] .
>>456171
Of course there are beliefs that the universe forces to accept, but I was moreso talking about belief in the sense of morality and other things which are often considered to be chosen by us.
>>456192
I don't think these are chosen either. Either you believe in something or you don't, and someone threatening you isn't going to change that. People can of course force you to shut up about it but they can't make you believe something else through outside force.
Or do you have an example of a belief that can be changed that way?
>>456192
Who are these invisible entities that consider them chosen? Why do you even act like we all agree free will exists?
>>456155
The idea that ones beliefs should be immovable and irreplaceable is a dangerous force in society, and one that makes a high level of discourse and debate impossible. If examining your evidence closer is considered a temptation to fall away from the belief, or considered a weakness of your current resolve, than you can not be reasoned with beyond what is already known to you.
If you suspect that your belief could not stand up to the highest scrutiny then you should reexamine what led you to believe it before you continue to praise it. And if, along the way, you find that it does not hold up to scrutiny, what you believe should change to account for what you have seen.
>>456171
Gravity is not a belief, it's a law of nature, it will work either if you believe in it or not. I think OP is referring to more subjective beliefs (like religion or personal theories that are not scientifically proven yet).
OP I think that there's not a correct answer for that. Some men died for their ideals and risked everything for them, others insted have decided to resign their ideals to not have their lives ruined. It depends. Of course I'm taking for granted that the threat is something that could ruin entirely (or put an end to) your life. If you change idea just because you're afraid of a punch in the face or to be called names then you're just a faggot.
>>456765
>>Gravity is not a belief, it's a law of nature, it will work either if you believe in it or not.
this is what undergrads in science believe.
>>456772
You realise that Gravitation is considered to be a fundamental force of the universe right?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_interaction
>>456865
Wasn't gravitation some thing that happened to space in Einstein-an mechanics? how can it be a force when it's just geometry?
>>456865
Please just go back to high school
>>456772
You sir,
you are a faggot.
