'Belief … is the central problem in the analysis of mind.'

– philosopher Bertrand Russell, 1921

Our capacity to believe things, from the profound to the mundane, is fundamental to human psychology, and therefore our lives. However, the common understanding of how belief works is wrong – and not just a bit wrong but the-Sun-goes-around-the-Earth wrong.

And just as the truth about the Sun and the Earth’s relationship had profound implications for our understanding of the cosmos, the truth about how belief works has profound implications for our understanding of human psychology, and therefore for our lives. But this truth is so counterintuitive that it can, ironically, seem unbelievable – as did the idea that the Earth isn’t the stationary centre of the universe but sweeps around the Sun while spinning about an axis.

This ongoing series reveals the truth about how belief works, and explores its implications.

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What Is Belief?

How Beliefs Form – Part 1

How Beliefs Form – Part 2

The Impossibility of Degrees of Belief

The Origin of Cognitive Biases (in progress)