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It seems to me that key feature of human nature is denial. There are some things that many people just refuse to believe despite all the evidence in the world to back it up.
This denial appears to be a result of serious perceived incompatibilities between existing beliefs and new information. This new information simply cannot be introduced into the existing worldview without a complete rebuild of the belief system from the ground up. The basis of this feature of the human mind appears to be that of coherency of the self and that without this stubborn refusal to admit and incorporate information in certain circumstances we run the risk of insanity or disorderly and confused behaviour.
A common, if controversial example - Some people simply cannot believe that evolution is a true account of biological diversity because their idea of evolution and how it relates to their existing view of God are just totally incompatible. Not because belief in evolution and God are necessarily incompatible but because the unconscious mind sees them as incompatible. If the belief in evolution is to become part of the overall world view then the belief in God requires a radical overhaul.
There are other examples that are obvious to many of us.
It seems clear that for all our efforts most of these debates will remain unresolved because of the subconscious gatekeeper who veto's rational conclusions to preserve our psychological coherency.
What do you think?
NOTE: I used the evolution example not to invite a debate on evolution. I thought it was a reasonably good example, one we are probably all familiar with and especially useful when considering the tactics used in internet debates on the topic.
This denial appears to be a result of serious perceived incompatibilities between existing beliefs and new information. This new information simply cannot be introduced into the existing worldview without a complete rebuild of the belief system from the ground up. The basis of this feature of the human mind appears to be that of coherency of the self and that without this stubborn refusal to admit and incorporate information in certain circumstances we run the risk of insanity or disorderly and confused behaviour.
A common, if controversial example - Some people simply cannot believe that evolution is a true account of biological diversity because their idea of evolution and how it relates to their existing view of God are just totally incompatible. Not because belief in evolution and God are necessarily incompatible but because the unconscious mind sees them as incompatible. If the belief in evolution is to become part of the overall world view then the belief in God requires a radical overhaul.
There are other examples that are obvious to many of us.
It seems clear that for all our efforts most of these debates will remain unresolved because of the subconscious gatekeeper who veto's rational conclusions to preserve our psychological coherency.
What do you think?
NOTE: I used the evolution example not to invite a debate on evolution. I thought it was a reasonably good example, one we are probably all familiar with and especially useful when considering the tactics used in internet debates on the topic.
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