Your blog says "We choose our beliefs," but I am increasingly coming to doubt this. It seems clear that our desires and intentions play a role in forming our beliefs, but I tend to think that is mostly, or entirely, irrational behavior: wishful thinking, bias, and error. You have to put yourself into a very intentional and unusual state of mind to not believe a statement like "I am alive" and "I am reading Hubski right now." It is hard to imagine functioning without having beliefs like "If I stop going to work, my employer will stop paying me" or "If I press the brake pedal, the car will slow down" or "If I eat well, I will be healthier and feel better." thenewgreen, what does it mean to "need" to believe something? Is it the same as wanting to believe?