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Robin Hanson's avatar

That's a good question. I'd guess it arose with farming, since it correlates with farming-era values: "people who ... believe in a just world also tend to be more religious, more authoritarian, more conservative, more likely to admire political leaders and existing social institutions." To strengthen the power of social norms, we came to believe those who follow social norms are rewarded, those who do not are punished, more so than they actually are.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

To understand such delusions, it helps to understand the many layers that make up the human mind.

Does it? For example, I can trace my father's belief that the Black Panthers are going to take over society in a civil war to the primate layer: "Primates can thus be deluded about who supports which coalition, and how strong are coalitions." But how does that help me understand it?

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