The Dissenter | #826 Eric Funkhouser: The Signaling Functions of Beliefs, and Self-Deception @TheDissenterRL | Uploaded August 2023 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
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This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: enlites.com
RECORDED ON APRIL 24th 2023.
Dr. Eric Funkhouser is Professor and Departmental Chair of Philosophy at the University of Arkansas. His main areas of research are in the philosophy of psychology/mind and metaphysics. He is currently working on a series of papers concerning how social forces shape the functions of belief and other mental states. This work should culminate in a book, The Signaling Mind: Belief as Social Manipulation. In this manuscript, he argues that many beliefs serve a signaling function—much like animal signals used to manipulate other animals—that explains various irrational and dangerous beliefs, cognitive biases, as well as pro-social beliefs.
In this episode, we talk about beliefs, and self-deception. We first discuss what beliefs are, if they are always conscious, and how we study them. We talk about how to interpret incongruencies between belief and behavior. We discuss the signaling functions of beliefs, and how they apply to irrational beliefs, cognitive biases, and dangerous beliefs. We then get into self-deception, and discuss the different philosophical and scientific approaches to it. We also talk about the functions of self-deception, and discuss if it really works.
Time Links:
00:00 Intro
00:42 What are beliefs?
04:55 Are beliefs always conscious?
09:00 How do we study people’s beliefs?
13:35 When there’s a disconnect between belief and behavior
23:48 The (signaling) functions of beliefs
34:51 Beliefs that are epistemically irrational, but socially rational
38:04 A social explanation for some cognitive biases
42:09 Dangerous beliefs
59:41 Self-deception, and the different approaches to it
1:18:13 The functions of self-deception
1:19:49 Does self-deception work?
1:24:49 Follow Dr. Funkhouser’s work!
--
Follow Dr. Funkhouser’s work:
Faculty page: bit.ly/3YPWomM
Website: bit.ly/3YOGycg
PhilPeople profile: bit.ly/3I0mvRV
Twitter handle: @RealFunkhouser
--
A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, OLAF ALEX, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, MIKKEL STORMYR, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, EDWARD HALL, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, DANIEL FRIEDMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ANTON ERIKSSON, CHARLES MOREY, ALEX CHAU, AMAURI MARTÍNEZ, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, STARRY, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, IGOR N, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, CHRIS STORY, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, BENJAMIN GELBART, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, NIKLAS CARLSSON, ISMAËL BENSLIMANE, GEORGE CHORIATIS, VALENTIN STEINMANN, PER KRAULIS, KATE VON GOELER, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, LIAM DUNAWAY, BR, MASOUD ALIMOHAMMADI, AND PURPENDICULAR!
A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, AL NICK ORTIZ, AND NICK GOLDEN!
AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER, SERGIU CODREANU, BOGDAN KANIVETS, AND VEGA G!
And check out my playlists on:
PSYCHOLOGY: tinyurl.com/ybalf8km
PHILOSOPHY: tinyurl.com/yb6a7d3p
ANTHROPOLOGY: tinyurl.com/y8b42r7g
#TheDissenter #EricFunkhouser #Philosophy
------------------Support the channel------------
Patreon: patreon.com/thedissenter
PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter
PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy
PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l
PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz
PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m
PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: tinyurl.com/y95uvkao
------------------Follow me on---------------------
Facebook: facebook.com/thedissenteryt
Twitter: twitter.com/TheDissenterYT
Podcast: bit.ly/3FeSNqb
This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: enlites.com
RECORDED ON APRIL 24th 2023.
Dr. Eric Funkhouser is Professor and Departmental Chair of Philosophy at the University of Arkansas. His main areas of research are in the philosophy of psychology/mind and metaphysics. He is currently working on a series of papers concerning how social forces shape the functions of belief and other mental states. This work should culminate in a book, The Signaling Mind: Belief as Social Manipulation. In this manuscript, he argues that many beliefs serve a signaling function—much like animal signals used to manipulate other animals—that explains various irrational and dangerous beliefs, cognitive biases, as well as pro-social beliefs.
In this episode, we talk about beliefs, and self-deception. We first discuss what beliefs are, if they are always conscious, and how we study them. We talk about how to interpret incongruencies between belief and behavior. We discuss the signaling functions of beliefs, and how they apply to irrational beliefs, cognitive biases, and dangerous beliefs. We then get into self-deception, and discuss the different philosophical and scientific approaches to it. We also talk about the functions of self-deception, and discuss if it really works.
Time Links:
00:00 Intro
00:42 What are beliefs?
04:55 Are beliefs always conscious?
09:00 How do we study people’s beliefs?
13:35 When there’s a disconnect between belief and behavior
23:48 The (signaling) functions of beliefs
34:51 Beliefs that are epistemically irrational, but socially rational
38:04 A social explanation for some cognitive biases
42:09 Dangerous beliefs
59:41 Self-deception, and the different approaches to it
1:18:13 The functions of self-deception
1:19:49 Does self-deception work?
1:24:49 Follow Dr. Funkhouser’s work!
--
Follow Dr. Funkhouser’s work:
Faculty page: bit.ly/3YPWomM
Website: bit.ly/3YOGycg
PhilPeople profile: bit.ly/3I0mvRV
Twitter handle: @RealFunkhouser
--
A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, OLAF ALEX, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, MIKKEL STORMYR, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, FERGAL CUSSEN, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, ROMAIN ROCH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, NELLEKE BAK, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, PAULO TOLENTINO, JOÃO BARBOSA, JULIAN PRICE, EDWARD HALL, HEDIN BRØNNER, DOUGLAS FRY, FRANCA BORTOLOTTI, GABRIEL PONS CORTÈS, URSULA LITZCKE, SCOTT, ZACHARY FISH, TIM DUFFY, SUNNY SMITH, JON WISMAN, DANIEL FRIEDMAN, WILLIAM BUCKNER, PAUL-GEORGE ARNAUD, LUKE GLOWACKI, GEORGIOS THEOPHANOUS, CHRIS WILLIAMSON, PETER WOLOSZYN, DAVID WILLIAMS, DIOGO COSTA, ANTON ERIKSSON, CHARLES MOREY, ALEX CHAU, AMAURI MARTÍNEZ, CORALIE CHEVALLIER, BANGALORE ATHEISTS, LARRY D. LEE JR., OLD HERRINGBONE, STARRY, MICHAEL BAILEY, DAN SPERBER, ROBERT GRESSIS, IGOR N, JEFF MCMAHAN, JAKE ZUEHL, BARNABAS RADICS, MARK CAMPBELL, TOMAS DAUBNER, LUKE NISSEN, CHRIS STORY, KIMBERLY JOHNSON, BENJAMIN GELBART, JESSICA NOWICKI, LINDA BRANDIN, NIKLAS CARLSSON, ISMAËL BENSLIMANE, GEORGE CHORIATIS, VALENTIN STEINMANN, PER KRAULIS, KATE VON GOELER, ALEXANDER HUBBARD, LIAM DUNAWAY, BR, MASOUD ALIMOHAMMADI, AND PURPENDICULAR!
A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, TOM VANEGDOM, BERNARD HUGUENEY, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, JONCARLO MONTENEGRO, AL NICK ORTIZ, AND NICK GOLDEN!
AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MATTHEW LAVENDER, SERGIU CODREANU, BOGDAN KANIVETS, AND VEGA G!
And check out my playlists on:
PSYCHOLOGY: tinyurl.com/ybalf8km
PHILOSOPHY: tinyurl.com/yb6a7d3p
ANTHROPOLOGY: tinyurl.com/y8b42r7g
#TheDissenter #EricFunkhouser #Philosophy
