--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ultimately, of course, you must decide…" description: "\"Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an ob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/jesse-bering-51668_acknowledge_ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for_67057.jpg" --- # Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself… ![“Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps as evidence that God designed your mind to be so receptive to Him. Or, just maybe, you will come to acknowledge that, like…” quote by Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/jesse-bering-51668_acknowledge_ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for_67057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/jesse-bering-51668_acknowledge_ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for_67057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f4/jesse-bering-51668_acknowledge_ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for_67057.jpg) > “Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps as evidence that God designed your mind to be so receptive to Him. Or, just maybe, you will come to acknowledge that, like the rest of us, you are a hopeless pawn in one of natural selection's most successful hoaxes ever-and smile at the sheer ingenuity involved in pulling it off, at the very thought of such mindless cleverness. One can still enjoy the illusion of God, after all, without believing Him to be real.” [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores whether our mental biases are evidence of a divine design or merely evolutionary tricks, suggesting we can appreciate the concept of God without literal belief. **In simple terms:** Balancing belief and skepticism about mind's origins. Key Takeaway God can be a useful illusion. Themes philosophy of mind evolutionary psychology theism skepticism meaning of life Mood contemplative wry thoughtful Type aphoristic analytical When to use this quote - personal existential reflection - debates on religion - psychology lectures - creative writing - spiritual counseling Key Concepts cognitive bias natural selection faith illusion Practical Applications - philosophical essays - therapy discussions Questions to Reflect On - Does recognizing our biases diminish their influence? - Can belief in God be purely symbolic? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/) [Hoaxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoaxes/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Ingenuity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ingenuity/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mindless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindless/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Objective reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objective-reality/) [Pawns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pawns/) [Psychological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychological/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) ## Related quotes > [“Just before bed, your mind is very receptive, so no matter what went wrong that day, find something that went right, open to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/just-before-bed-your-mind-is-very-receptive-so-no-matter-what-went/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [After having stopped the lower activities of the mind, it must be made receptive; and, instead of weaving all kinds of empty and idle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/after-having-stopped-the-lower-activities-of-the-mind-it-must-be-made/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/he-who-permits-himself-to-tell-a-lie-once-finds-it-much-easier-to-do-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Satan will battle you with doubt and unbelief, but God has victory waiting for you if you'll keep trusting and believing Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/satan-will-battle-you-with-doubt-and-unbelief-but-god-has-victory/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [I can get more out of God by believing Him for one minute than by shouting at Him all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smith-wigglesworth/i-can-get-more-out-of-god-by-believing-him-for-one-minute-than-by/) [Smith Wigglesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smith-wigglesworth/) > [Do what you love and believe in, and work hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-burton/do-what-you-love-and-believe-in-and-work-hard/) [Sarah Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-burton/) > [If we insist on visible proofs from God, we may well prepare the way for a permanent state of disappointment. True faith does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/if-we-insist-on-visible-proofs-from-god-we-may-well-prepare-the-way/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“Oh, the irony. Cognitive biases prevent us from understanding cognitive biases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-barker/oh-the-irony-cognitive-biases-prevent-us-from-understanding-cognitive/) [Eric Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-barker/) > [“Cognitive biases worked well when rapid pattern recognition and decision making was critical for survival,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-clarke/cognitive-biases-worked-well-when-rapid-pattern-recognition-and/) [Richard A. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-clarke/) > [“Not only are we subject to cognitive biases, we also frequently seek out things that reinforce them. We interpret facts through the prism of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-tirole/not-only-are-we-subject-to-cognitive-biases-we-also-frequently-seek/) [Jean Tirole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-tirole/) > [“Stopping gives you the chance of knowing less, of halting the perception-narrowing force of the cognitive biases that we are always trying to confirm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-lotto/stopping-gives-you-the-chance-of-knowing-less-of-halting-the/) [Beau Lotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-lotto/) > [We historians are increasingly using experimental psychology to understand the way we act. It is becoming very clear that our ability to evaluate risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/we-historians-are-increasingly-using-experimental-psychology-to/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“This is our recurring temptation—to live within our camp’s caves, taking turns both as the shadow-puppeteers and the audience. We chant our camp’s mantras…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-jones/this-is-our-recurring-temptation-to-live-within-our-camp-s-caves/) [Daniel Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-jones/) > [“In trying to make sense of this pessimism, Ridley, like Kahneman, sees a combination of cognitive biases and evolutionary psychology as the core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/in-trying-to-make-sense-of-this-pessimism-ridley-like-kahneman-sees-a/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [“companies trying to misrepresent the product they sell by playing with our cognitive biases, our unconscious associations, and that’s sneaky. The latter is done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/companies-trying-to-misrepresent-the-product-they-sell-by-playing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More by Jesse Bering > [“The psychologist Charles Moser, for example, pointed out that those inclined to divide the "sane" from the "insane" in terms of frequency of sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/the-psychologist-charles-moser-for-example-pointed-out-that-those/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [“Thoughts said aloud are mutant by nature. 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