Coffee & Conversation: Belief

Author Philip K. Dick once defined reality as that which once you stop believing in it ceases to go away. A great working definition, succinct and smarting of the true! Yet there are many inventions of the mind (singular and societal) that seem to work on us no matter our belief in them, which we nonetheless would call “realititually contingent.” (And yes, we just made up that word “realititually”; librarians have that license.) Traffic laws for example, or “late-stage Capitalism.” Does communal belief make something real? Can any belief make something real? What is the difference between belief and faith? Are there more UFO sightings because of an increase in UFO belief? Can a vampire harm a non-believer? What about less mystical beliefs? Does having a positive mental attitude better equip one against catastrophe? Or to what else might we owe the metaphysical belief/reality connection? Is the cosmos a set of fixed data points awaiting scientific discovery, or does the cosmos align itself scientifically because it knows we’re looking to see it like that! Chickens? Eggs? What are your beliefs, dear patron, and how have they aided you. This is our topic for this month’s coffee and conversation, a safe space to share and muddle and stutter and noodle with neighbors.