This volume answers the question: Why do we believe what we believe? It examines current
research on the concept of beliefs and the development in our understanding of the process of
believing. It takes into account empirical findings in the field of neuroscience regarding the
processes that underlie beliefs and discusses the notion that beyond the interactive
exploratory analysis of sensory information from the complex outside world humans engage in an
evaluative analysis by which they attribute personal meaning and relevance to the probabilistic
representations of objects and events. Beliefs exert a strong influence on behaviour
decision-making and identifying and solving problems. Despite their importance beliefs have
until recently not been at the centre of scientific interest. In fact ¿belief¿ is an
ill-defined phenomenon. From a transdisciplinary perspective the actual approaches to
understanding belief seem incompatible as they attempt to highlight such different topics as
¿belief ¿ religion¿ ¿belief ¿ spirituality¿ ¿belief ¿ faith¿ ¿belief ¿ knowledge¿ ¿belief ¿
attitude¿ ¿belief ¿ disbelief¿ ¿belief ¿ illusion¿ and ¿believing ¿ brain function¿. This
situation contradicts the idea that belief is close to pathological phenomena and that it
should be eliminated from scientific discussions. Rather believing is fundamental for
understanding the many problems of every-day life. In fact the book shows that beliefs are
relevant for politics international affairs economy law or religions also in modern
societies. This book presents the increasing scientific interest in beliefs and believing and
reflects the change in focus from the content aspect of belief towards the fluid nature of
believing.
