Believing a Lie to Be the Truth, Truthfully: Self Deception

[Paranoid Android]

There is plenty of people that believe something but simply is not true. But when even faced with facts, they hold on to disbelief and continue believing the lie.
Which brings me to a question: Why do we choose self deceit as an option ? It will certainly not lead you to positive results. Why do we do it, and not let logic and reason lead us ? Or are we just fooling ourselves,and logic and reason really play a small part in our decision making ?

 

[Revoltingest]

Human brains are imperfect things.
My theory is that diversity of thought type is a survival advantage.
Sure, much thought is wrong, but the continual influx of diverse patterns lets us adapt to a changing environment.

 

[Laika]

logic and reason are a very small part of our decision making. we are still basically animals who function based on our emotions in response to stimuli. Thought developed over time (I've heard from language but I've not given it much thought). depending on the belief, it can also take time for the brain to change in response to new information. we have to learn to think in a new way rather than simply reject the old way of thinking. So denial can be healthy if its kind of 'filing' something away to do for later and then actually going through with it. We have to feel in control of our own thought processes and 'facts' can be uncomfortable- the animal brain connects our beliefs with our sense, so an attack on our beliefs is easily translated as an attack on our self.

 

[Twilight Hue]

There is plenty of people that believe something but simply is not true. But when even faced with facts, they hold on to disbelief and continue believing the lie.
Which brings me to a question: Why do we choose self deceit as an option ? It will certainly not lead you to positive results. Why do we do it, and not let logic and reason lead us ? Or are we just fooling ourselves,and logic and reason really play a small part in our decision making ?

It's likely due to misdirection by which logic and reason can follow, up to a point, even a falsehood in a particular manner within set parameters.

 

[Paranoid Android]

Well, my question is this: Do people favor their intuition over logic and reason, or vice a versa? I think it is a typical response of a heavy daily drug user when they deny they got a problem. The truth is the opposite ; You use drugs heavily and on a daily basis. You DO have a problem ! Logic and reason, if applied BRUTALLY, with no consideration for how it makes you feel, will unveil the truth to you.

 

[Revoltingest]

People prefer intuition by a large margin.
Logic can come in a bit later when reconsidering an initial inclination or decision.

 

[Willamena]

Which brings me to a question: Why do we choose self deceit as an option ?

Are you familiar with the term doublethink, from the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell?

There are some good threads about it here, like this one.
http://www.religiousforums.com/threads/doublethink.41457/

 

[Paranoid Android]

No. What is it ?

 

[Paranoid Android]

Are you familiar with the term doublethink, from the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell?

There are some good threads about it here, like this one.
http://www.religiousforums.com/threads/doublethink.41457/

I like the definition for "doublethink". People verbally denying what they know is true. I've done that most of my life. As a kid, my parents told me if I behaved more like them (non-disabled kids) they's leave me alone. Of course, there Ablist ideas were everywhere, from what they called the small bus ( the "Tartcart", because only "retards" rode it), to what they called me ('Retard"), to what they called my classroom ("Sped"). I, in there eyes was a retard, a nothing and I was ideal to be beaten. I learned how to lie to my parents and everyone because they were he majority, and unless you agreed with them, there MUST be "something" wrong with you.

 

[Banjankri]

Well, my question is this: Do people favor their intuition over logic and reason, or vice a versa? I think it is a typical response of a heavy daily drug user when they deny they got a problem. The truth is the opposite ; You use drugs heavily and on a daily basis. You DO have a problem ! Logic and reason, if applied BRUTALLY, with no consideration for how it makes you feel, will unveil the truth to you.

Sorry, but this is not truth, it's just a point of view. To make it true, you would have to find out what is the meaning of life. Only then would you be able to show that particular actions are fulfilling it or not. Since life has no meaning, it is up to an individual, what he wants to do with it, and what goals he sets for himself. If he doesn't set any large goals for his life, then his body dictates what to do. As long as logical goals are less important that physical pleasure, they will not trigger care.
In life of suffering, drugs are like instant salvation for some people. One trip can be more fulfilling then decades of sobriety, and decades of tripping may be more than entire sober life. And who are we do judge it?

When one is driven by logic, it is very hard to fulfill his expectations. This causes suffering in many different forms. Moreover, you often have to fight with yourself, and with your habits, because they are irrational. This is not an easy fight. Body naturally wants to return to homeostasis which will often conflicts with what the reason wants to do. Entire religions were developed to address this problem.

To sum it up, if your behavior does not conflict with your beliefs, you don't need logic. You need logic to transform beliefs into knowledge, but this is something that only few will attempt, as it requires a lot of effort, which costs energy and time. Some will simply say that it's waste of time.