Overall, we need to let go of the idea that people believe things because they have evaluated the evidence and have come to a conclusion. This is scientific tho

Overall, we need to let go of the idea that people believe things because they have evaluated the evidence and have come to a conclusion. This is scientific thought, and if you have ever changed your mind on a strongly held belief based on new facts then you know that it takes conscious effort and humility, which even the best of us cannot apply to every single position they have. Instead, I am convinced that all of us believe mostly for emotional reasons: the need to feel important, the need to be part of a group, the need to maintain some social order etc. For most people, who are not willing or capable to apply scientific thought, all of these needs trump every fact you may have. If you want to “convince” people, you need to address first the underlying issue, which is often difficult: loneliness, social isolation, feelings of inferiority etc. One example I found particularly striking for the contrast between the common “rationality” assumption and actual working of beliefs, is this paper by Max Adams: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9893/2a75ad8e79585e95c58a26d61878b72c4937.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9893/2a75ad8e79585e95c58a26...