When faith supersedes analysis

This article is a good discussion of the nature of belief, and the belief in belief, if you will. Worth reading.

Can you imagine anything "so important that it must not be subjected to the risks of disconfirmation or serious criticism"? Intellectually, most of us would say not. But, in fact, we often act as though the answer is yes... This is the kind of cognitive prophylactic that Daniel Dennett had in mind when he talked, in Breaking the Spell, about "belief in belief". This occurs when a tenet comes to be seen, in his words, as "so important that it must not be subjected to the risks of disconfirmation or serious criticism". He thought that such a protective cloak should not be thrown over any belief, whether true or false, or whether that belief is in the empirical equality of human beings, the power of science, or of belief in God. More...