People clinging to falsehoods is not a failure of intelligence, but a deeply human attempt to protect emotional stability in an overwhelming world.

Chas Key’s recent article in _Pearls & Irritations_ raises a question at the centre of our political and cultural turmoil: why do people cling so fiercely to beliefs that are demonstrably untrue? Why do falsehoods, conspiracies and simplistic narratives not only survive but prosper in societies that pride themselves on being better educated than at any point in history?

The answer lies not in ignorance or stupidity, nor in moral failure, but in something far more primal and deeply wired into our biology: the human need for homeostatic equilibrium, a sense of psychological and emotional safety.

People cling to falsehoods because those beliefs steady them. They reject evidence because it unsettles them. Beliefs endure not because they are accurate, but because they keep the self upright in an overwhelming world.

This is not an excuse for damaging beliefs; it is an explanation, and one we must understand if we hope to address the crises unfolding around us.

Homeostasis is the body’s constant, unconscious effort to maintain a stable internal environment. We usually think of it as a biological process, regulating temperature, breathing, blood chemistry. But homeostasis is also the foundation of our emotional and psychological lives. Everything we do as humans, whether in thought, feeling or social behaviour, is oriented toward protecting this internal balance. The brain seeks equilibrium with the same inevitability that lungs seek air. It is not optional, and it is not secondary. It is the controlling force behind behaviour, belief formation and decision-making.

Yet the world rarely cooperates with our need for stability. Reality arrives with sharp edges: uncertainty, ambiguity, sudden loss,........

© Pearls and Irritations