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wilbjammin · 07-27-2004, 12:13 PM

I was having trouble deciding whether to put this thread here, philosophy, or general discussion. I think Living makes the most sense -

I have seen a lot of interesting attempts in the last few weeks of people trying to rationalize that the situations they are in aren't as bad as they really are. Severe cognitive dissonance seems to be a rule more than an exception these days. People try so hard and gain a lot of support in quieting those "bad thoughts".

There are reasons that people have bad thoughts, and to attempt to ignore/dismiss those thoughts won't make the negative emotions go away. And to justify whatever you see as a problem as being OK just creates a schizm within the self.

Rather than making a complicated set of rules under which some things are OK, and others are not, I'd suggest that we would, instead, admit to our mistakes, short-comings, and give validation to our feelings. There is always a reason that someone feels a certain way, and it is never invalid. It may be irrational, but to understand the irrationality of some emotions is much better than simple dismissal.

The point that I am getting at is that I think there is a problem with the amount of rationalization that I am seeing. Rather than coming to better understandings of ourselves, we create more distance within ourselves. Rationalization, in my view, is one of the biggest contributors to people not knowing themselves.

The questions then, are, what can be done? Do you agree that rationalization is a big problem? What are the causes of rationalization? What are the effects of rationalization as you see them? How does rationalization affect you personally?

07-27-2004, 12:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
wilbjammin * * *	Rationalization I was having trouble deciding whether to put this thread here, philosophy, or general discussion. I think Living makes the most sense - I have seen a lot of interesting attempts in the last few weeks of people trying to rationalize that the situations they are in aren't as bad as they really are. Severe cognitive dissonance seems to be a rule more than an exception these days. People try so hard and gain a lot of support in quieting those "bad thoughts". There are reasons that people have bad thoughts, and to attempt to ignore/dismiss those thoughts won't make the negative emotions go away. And to justify whatever you see as a problem as being OK just creates a schizm within the self. Rather than making a complicated set of rules under which some things are OK, and others are not, I'd suggest that we would, instead, admit to our mistakes, short-comings, and give validation to our feelings. There is always a reason that someone feels a certain way, and it is never invalid. It may be irrational, but to understand the irrationality of some emotions is much better than simple dismissal. The point that I am getting at is that I think there is a problem with the amount of rationalization that I am seeing. Rather than coming to better understandings of ourselves, we create more distance within ourselves. Rationalization, in my view, is one of the biggest contributors to people not knowing themselves. The questions then, are, what can be done? Do you agree that rationalization is a big problem? What are the causes of rationalization? What are the effects of rationalization as you see them? How does rationalization affect you personally? __________________ Innominate.