The feel of truth

JOSEPH E USCINSKI enjoys an account of a fake report that supposedly exposed a huge conspiracy to wage war in support of the American economy

- JOSEPH E USCINSKI

People often think that their beliefs are determined by reality – that they believe things because those things are, in fact, true. Having polled the American public for the past decade about their beliefs, particularly those relating to conspiracy theories, I would argue that the truth sometimes plays little role in determining what people believe. This seems to be especially the case when it comes to political belief.

Too often, people prefer to believe comfortable ideas that do not force them to question their pre-existing beliefs. As such, sometimes people adopt beliefs that are true and sometimes they adopt beliefs that are false. This is not a new phenomenon, but it is a major reason why people disagree about 'truth': they might not be as motivated to find what is true as they are to find what feels true.