I tend to be biased towards wanting to agree with you 1000% on 99% of your post. As I age, though, I become increasingly skeptical of the idea that the human brain is any good at discovering or holding onto the truth. I do believe that the brain can be managed with good mental hygeine and process (https://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Sense-Heretical-Nature-Scien...), but I find this particular discipline rare in the social science departments I have visited. (I probably just need to get out more).
> It's a fair assumption that society holding true beliefs is also going to be most effective for survival.
This is the part I disagree with. People are social. And their environment is other people. Imagine a nation or tribe populated by Aztecs, or Mormons (No hate - just an example). A person's ability to survive in a territory populated by Aztecs or Mormons is going to be significantly determined by their ability to conform to group beliefs re: normative behavior. The easiest way to do that (thanks mirror neurons!) is to believe it yourself...
> It's a fair assumption that society holding true beliefs is also going to be most effective for survival.
This is the part I disagree with. People are social. And their environment is other people. Imagine a nation or tribe populated by Aztecs, or Mormons (No hate - just an example). A person's ability to survive in a territory populated by Aztecs or Mormons is going to be significantly determined by their ability to conform to group beliefs re: normative behavior. The easiest way to do that (thanks mirror neurons!) is to believe it yourself...