Why do you believe what you believe?

I was born to a deeply religious Russian-Mennonite family. My mother broke away from the family when I was 7 (Women's rights issue) and took us, her children, with her. As I began to go to secular, english-speaking schools, questions began to be answered about my world that were previously sidestepped.Fast forward to today. I'm a utilitarian, agnostic hard-determinist. And it all makes perfect sense to me.In response to GDR, and as a belief I want to state anyway: There is no such thing as "random"
It doesn't exist. Every physical thing has a physical cause. There is no evidence to show otherwise. (I believe we will eventually find the cause of radioactive decay) Evolution, genetic mutation, etc are not products of randomness, but of subtle pushes over a long time and often at the microscopic scale. It's obvious to me, at least.Everything I believe in has come from learning about it from my schooling or on my own. When I then go out in the world and apply the knowledge, it fits. The entire mountain of human knowledge just fits so nicely together.[edited for clarity]This message has been edited by Drewsky, 03-29-2006 05:16 PM

"The winner usually possesses a healthy joie de vivre while the loser often harbours a sombre pessimism .... Perhaps the winner 'pleases' the particles (of the dice) whilst the pessimist 'displeases' them."...and that was precisely where I stopped taking the article seriously.There are yet some things about our world we do not know, but that's all they are. Things we do not know yet. We will figure them out in good time. Will we find truth in a "spirit world"? Possibly, but it would be unwise to hold your breath.[edit]Oops, I guess this is indeed off topic.This message has been edited by Drewsky, 04-01-2006 10:46 PM