Superstition: A Need for Control

Spinoza thinks that superstition is irrational; he believes that it is people’s fear and constant need to be in control that drives them to do and believe in things that rational people normally wouldn’t. When Spinoza says “…can only trust to luck, wobbling miserably between hope and fear. That makes them ready to believe anything that will calm them down” (Treatise 2) he understands that what makes people believe irrational things is their need for hope and control. It is extremely comforting to ‘know’ that everything that happens, good or bad, is caused by God/s and that it is in response to something one did (i.e. prayer) that caused the good or bad to happen. Spinoza is not against religion. He just disagrees with the superstitions that are so often attached with much of religion. Even though he wrote about superstition a few hundred years ago, much of his arguments still have relevance today. People let their fears and insecurities get the best of them all the time and will believe anything – no matter how unreasonable – so long as it comforts them.

Spinoza thinks that “superstition-switching” causes many outbreaks of disorder and war (Treatise 3).  He thinks that it causes disorder and war because he believes that people are unhappy and are constantly looking for new superstitions that have not yet deceived them. This constant search for something different causes disorder and chaos as people get fed up with one superstition, start cursing it and try to find something new. It causes disorder because switching ends up upsetting the leaders or followers of their previous superstition who are desperate for power and control. Throughout the history of this world, there has been much pain caused in the name of superstitious ideas and the desperate need for power and control of people’s beliefs.

What is it that keeps some people so attracted to superstitions that even though they are deceived by them, they will either continue to believe in them or simply switch to belief in another irrational superstition. Obviously, fear and need for constant control is part of what drives them to continue to be deceived by irrationality and superstition. However, I think that there must be something more to it. There are many things that deceive people and even if that thing is driven by something as strong as a need for control and hope, if one is deceived by it enough times they will come to accept that it is not true. What is it that changes when the deceiving belief is superstition?