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The likelihood that the belief you are born with is correct

שו"תThe likelihood that the belief you are born with is correct
שאל לפני 3 שנים

Hello Rabbi.
This is a question I've been thinking about recently, it mixes a little philosophy, a little psychology, and a little mathematics I guess – three subjects I don't understand at all, so I'd love to hear your opinion.
It is clear to me that no matter how much a person tries to investigate beliefs in a purely rational way, they are still significantly influenced by the environment they were born into and the beliefs their parents believe in, and I assume you would agree with that. In addition, I know that there are many, many different religions around the world – a very large proportion with a much larger number of believers than Judaism. So I wonder – what are the chances that you will be born into exactly the right religion? Especially if it is a small religion like Judaism, assuming that you have come to the conclusion that it is the right religion, isn't it more likely that psychological influences caused you to choose this path than that a miracle actually happened and you were born into exactly the right religion?
I'm aware that this is not an argument against the Jewish religion (there must be some kind of argument that describes this fallacy), but I still don't see why this doesn't mean that Judaism should be placed last in terms of the chance that it is true (and in any case, the evidence in its favor would have to be much stronger than usual)…


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מיכי צוות ענה לפני 3 שנים
The odds are the same as for any other religion (in proportion to the number of children born in each such faith). Therefore, according to this, you should reject all beliefs. But this is a stupid argument. I do not check the odds for something that I have arguments for or against. I check the arguments and decide if they are convincing. Odds between options are a tool for making decisions when we do not have additional information and other tools. An example: when you find a piece of meat lying on the street, you follow the majority of stores: if the majority is kosher, you assume that the piece is kosher, and if the majority is not kosher, you assume that it is not kosher. But if the piece has a plumbe of kosher on it, there is no point in following the odds and probabilities. The number of stores in each direction does not matter. And even if you have doubts about this particular kosher or that it may be fake, odds are still not the tool to deal with it. The fact that we are influenced by the environment we are born into is of course true, but there is no escaping it. So what we can do is be aware of it and make decisions to the best of our understanding. That's what it is.

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