Philosophy Stream of Consciousness - The problem of doing

There is a saying: Those who cannot do, teach. But what if you can't do anything? What if you have a problem of doing?

One of the key symptoms of depression is paralysis, an inability to do anything. Writer's block is a kind of paralysis, and so is procrastination.

Growing up we often hear "You can be anything you want" or "You can do anything you set your mind to." While it makes sense for us to give out words of encouragement, it's important to realize that not everyone can set their mind to anything. What one can set their mind to is very much based on things of imagination, circumstance, ability, and interest. I feel a profound disconnect between myself and the idea of being a lawyer, or doctor, or engineer, or just about anything. I cannot imagine being these things; my circumstances are not conducive to me becoming these things; I do not have the ability to excel at these things; I feel no interest in these things.

So we can say a lack of imagination is another form of paralysis, and so is a lack of interest. A lack of imagination and interest leads to a lack of motivation.

A key symptom of depression is a lack of motivation. Often this is called laziness, when really it's an issue of belief. If you don't believe in doing something, then you will lack the motivation to do it.

The problem of doing is related to doxastic psychology. Psychology is the study of human behavior. There are many angles one can take in explaining human behavior. Psychology requires a multi-dimensional, multifaceted approach, just like everything else. Doxastic psychology is that angle of explaining human behavior in terms of belief.

For example, let's say there's a man who has the following beliefs:

• Going to heaven is the most important thing in life.
• The best chance of getting into heaven is through performing the sacraments of the Catholic church and believing in Catholic dogma.

What can we predict of this man's behavior? We can predict that he goes to mass and confession, prays the rosary, and generally engages in Catholic behavior. At least, finding out that he does these things is not surprising in the least given his beliefs.

Another example, a woman who believes:

• Being attractive is the most important thing in life.
• Being overweight makes one unattractive.
• Eating food makes one overweight.

It wouldn't be surprising at all, given these beliefs, that this woman would associate eating food with a sense of lower self-worth, and would therefore obsessively refrain from eating food. This is called anorexia.

I don't remember when I coined 'doxastic psychology'. But the idea came to me in my teens when I observed how the behavior of Christians was so different from the behavior of non-Christians, clearly due to different worldviews and beliefs. Not only does your worldview affect your beliefs, but your attitudes, emotions, and reactions as well. All of these contribute to your behavior. So if your behavior is important to you, then your worldview is important to you as well. And if your worldview is important to you, then philosophy, the practice of shaping your worldview, is important to you.

I was shocked when I finally took a psychology class and learned about Freud and Skinner; doxastic psychology never came up. Doxastic psychology is so obvious to me that surely some psychologists came up with it before I was born. Asking ChatGPT about my theory, six names came up as possible theorists who've gotten close: Albert Ellis & Aaron Beck (cognitive behavioral therapy), Leon Festinger (cognitive dissonance), George Kelly, Jean Piaget (Schema Theory), and Paul Ricoeur. I'll have to check them out to see what they have to say. At first glance, George Kelly seems to come closest.