Can you choose what you believe?

[choirsoftheeye]

kenzomatic said:

choirsoftheeye said:
The number of people who answered the questions "Can you change your habits?" or "Do people have free will?" rather than the question asked makes me die a little inside.

The question of free will is directly related to whether or not you can choose your beliefs.

 It's somewhat related.  It's a precursor to answering the question - free will indicates you have choice in your actions, or at least some of them.  However, universal application of that, even by people who believe in it, is stupid.  You have involuntary actions that don't even have the illusion of free will (see, for example, your heartbeat).  Given that fundamentally believing in something isn't like eating an apple - it's not something that you just do, it has to be deeper and more consistent, and be something that you're convinced is true, the question becomes significantly trickier...