I don't know how the world works, no one does. The only constant is chaos. Many fain comprehension of methods of madness, but any who claim comprehension are insane. Anything anyone can think they know of Humanity and the Universe we find ourselves in is an ignorant belief. Some beliefs are more informed by observation then others, but reality has a complexity well beyond the comprehension of any single mind. So how do we navigate the chaos without a perfect map? We work off maps we know to be untrue, but functional. Most Christians don't actually believe 100% of the narrative, many don't actually believe in most of it, but it's a narrative, a map, to a good life and a good society. However, beliefs cause people to feel the need to exterminate any different perspective in order to validate their own.
"...belief is the death of intelligence." ~RAW
So is it possible to function without belief? How do we navigate without a working map? The Scientific Dictatorship of the Future would have us give up personal navigation. The narrative of the greater good (according to a vetted elite) would effectively be transmitted to individual by the machines. The lack of diversity and the inbred group-think in such a society would create instabilities that we can easily see in the world today. We're blinded by our beliefs, we can't see what's right in front of our eyes yet we march proudly on. There is no way to know what we can't perceive, and no way to perceive the turbulent nature of chaotic interaction. The Chaos of Anons.
"We have long known that the objects of our palpable sense experiences can be influenced by choice—both conscious choice and unconscious. This is a demonstrated fact that does not require that we believe some force within us reaches out and touches the universe. I address a pragmatic relationship between belief and what we identify as "real." All of our judgements carry a heavy burden of ancestral beliefs to which we of the Bene Gesserit tend to be more susceptible than most. It is not enough that we are aware of this and guard against it. Alternative interpretations must always receive our attention." ~Mother Superior Taraza: Argument in Council
The real problem comes in with how our beliefs cause our realities. I belief this to be true on a metaphysical level, but it can be easily observed without invoking extra-reality explanations. Belief in any particular idea tends to cause the observation of said idea. Belief in Republican ideology tends to cause a world viewed with a republican narrative (Same for Dems, there's just a bit more diversity in the narrative). A belief in the fundamental goodness of man will lead to seeing the best in strangers. A belief in moral law leads to an imposition of criminal law. Belief in an authoritarian God leads to the formation of an authoritarian government. Our myths form our perspective, our lies form our real world.
It is then my belief that our salvation is cynical agnosticism. Nothing is real, but something is real. Any one idea is BS, but everything is BS. We live in our BS, but there's nothing we can do to escape an underlying emptiness to any belief. The fullness of life is to be found, not in a House of Cards, but in experience and perception. The House of Cards is how we shape our experience and perception. It's important, but not sacred. Beliefs are real, because they shape reality, but they're not creating the reality you want... then it's time to change your beliefs.
This is the awe-inspiring universe of magic: There are no atoms, only waves and motions all around. Here, you discard all belief in barriers to understanding. You put aside understanding itself. This universe cannot be seen, cannot be heard, cannot be detected in any way by fixed perceptions. It is the ultimate void where no preordained screens occur upon which forms may be projected. You have only one awareness here — the screen of the magi: Imagination! Here, you learn what it is to be human. You are a creator of order, of beautiful shapes and systems, an organiser of chaos." ~The Atreides Manifesto
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