Читать книгу Uncomfortable Ideas - Bo Bennett PhD - Страница 21

Unconscious, individual avoidance occurs when a person shelters him or herself from uncomfortable ideas without even realizing it. Some examples of this kind of avoidance include common cultural presuppositions and committing logical fallacies.

In Islamic cultures, it is presupposed that not only a god exists, but that just one god exists, and the god’s name is ALLAH, and the Koran is the word of this god. To presuppose something means to accept some idea as a fact without the need for critical examination of that idea. Some people call these presuppositions “self-evident truths,” which ironically, are only evident to those who call them “self-evident.” Often, presupposed ideas that are critically examined and found to be unworthy of acceptance could completely unravel an individual’s worldview, a society, a country, and even humanity. For this reason, cultural norms protect certain ideas by demonizing outsiders who don’t accept the idea, deem it “offensive” or “rude” to question the idea, and even make the disagreement or questioning of ideas illegal and in some cases punishable by death. In America, it is presupposed that “In God we trust,” pledging allegiance to our country is the right thing to do, and those who kill people when our government tells them to are “heroes.” The chances are, you have never given any of those ideas much thought, not because you chose not to, but because in America, these things are just a given. No critical thought required (or welcomed).

Uncomfortable Idea: Presuppositions and “self-evident truths” are ways to avoid rational justification. We need to realize that what is self-evident to us may not be self-evident to others.

Another way we unconsciously avoid exposure to ideas is by associating ideas with stigmatized people or groups, and dismissing the idea based on that association—a version of the ad hominem fallacy also known as guilt by association. Let’s use Hitler, the classic American supervillain. How many men have you seen sportin a Hitler-style mustache? The odds are, none, outside of watching old Charlie Chaplin films. Fashion trend aside, men don’t have mustaches like Hitler’s because it would associate them with Hitler. For the same general reason, parents with last names of infamous people don’t give their children certain first names. You don’t see many young people named “Jeffrey Dahmer” or “Ted Bundy.” Besides facial hair and names, we also distance ourselves from the notorious by ideas. This is seen all the time in politics when one side of the political spectrum embraces an idea, and the other side has an immediate, and unconscious aversion to the idea due to the many cognitive biases found within group psychology¹⁷. In short, if the idea comes from our enemy, we don’t want to hear it. Unfortunately, this initial aversion combined with other cognitive biases such as rationalization, the confirmation bias, and the backfire effect, make the idea more uncomfortable and increasingly difficult to entertain. We’ll explore these ideas and many more in the following section.

¹ Yes, U.S. locks people up at a higher rate than any other country. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/07/07/yes-u-s-locks-people-up-at-a-higher-rate-than-any-other-country/

² Duncan, B. L. (1976). Differential social perception and attribution of intergroup violence: Testing the lower limits of stereotyping of Blacks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34(4), 590–598. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.34.4.590

³ Expanded Homicide Data Table 6. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_6_murder_race_and_sex_of_vicitm_by_race_and_sex_of_offender_2013.xls

⁴ T. U. of P. L. S. S., Philadelphia, & map215.898.7483, P. 19104. (n.d.). New study by Prof. David Abrams and co-authors confirms racial bias in criminal sentencing. Retrieved from https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/2170-new-study-by-professor-david-s-abrams-confirms

⁵ Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(8), 917–927. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.36.8.917

⁶ Disinvitation Report 2014 Infographic. (2014, May 28). Retrieved from https://www.thefire.org/disinvitation-report-2014-infographic/

⁷ Students Question Selection of Bloomberg as Commencement Speaker | News | The Harvard Crimson. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/3/11/students-question-bloomberg-speaker/

⁸ 6 Reasons Why We Need Safe Spaces — Everyday Feminism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/08/we-need-safe-spaces/

⁹ Synovitz, L. B., & Byrne, T. J. (1998). Antecedents of sexual victimization: factors discriminating victims from nonvictims. Journal of American College Health: J of ACH, 46(4), 151–158. http://doi.org/10.1080/07448489809595602

¹⁰ Workman, J. E., & Freeburg, E. W. (n.d.). An Examination of Date Rape, Victim Dress, and Perceiver Variables Within the Context of Attribution Theory. Sex Roles, 41(3–4), 261–277. http://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018858313267

¹¹ Abbey, A., Cozzarelli, C., McLaughlin, K., & Harnish, R. J. (1987). The Effects of Clothing and Dyad Sex Composition on Perceptions of Sexual Intent: Do Women and Men Evaluate These Cues Differently1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17(2), 108–126. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1987.tb00304.x

¹² What does it mean to be unequally yoked? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gotquestions.org/unequally-yoked.html

¹³ Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751

¹⁴ Nelson, T. D. (Ed.). (2009). Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination (1 edition). New York: Psychology Press.

¹⁵ Holloway, K. (n.d.). 10 ways white people are more racist than they realize. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from http://www.salon.com/2015/03/04/10_ways_white_people_are_more_racist_than_they_realize_partner/

¹⁶ Reporter, L. O., Reporter, T. H. P. D. M., & Post, H. (500, 17:13). Here Are 13 Examples Of Donald Trump Being Racist. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_us_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83

¹⁷ Foss, N. J., & Michailova, S. (2009). Knowledge Governance: Processes and Perspectives. OUP Oxford.