Discussion»Questions»Human Behavior» Are you more apt to believe what you hear and see with your own ears and eyes or what someone tells you to believe?
Are you more apt to believe what you hear and see with your own ears and eyes or what someone tells you to believe?
Why would you distrust your own experience and believe someone else who tells you that something else is true when you know better? Is that a mental/psychological/emotional defect?
I think sometimes we need to prove our own truth. Sometimes our truth is only ours, because of bias, our own experiences, or because of past experience. When we only believe our own truth, it shuts us off to other possibilities. I do stand by my own truth, but as I've become older, I've come to be more open minded about other peoples truth. We could be looking at the same sun, I see yellow, they see shades of yellow and white. Is their truth irrelevant because it's not my own? Because they are entitled to that truth does not mean that I have to believe it, I just understand that we are seeing two different things.
In parenting, you want to save your children from going down difficult roads that you've already been down. With my children, even with warning they went down those roads anyway, much to the pain of my heart. But they learned in a way that they couldn't have had they just heard it. Use to make me spitting mad that they didn't heed my warnings. But that isn't who they are, and I've had to accept that.
As children we are told what to believe until we grow up and can make up our own minds.
This post was edited by dragonfly46 at January 9, 2017 12:59 PM MST
The problem occurs when adult act as children and want "daddy" to protect them so they obey daddy and believe whatever daddy says they should. Trump is the daddy of today for some which explains the inexplicable reliance on what he says however hypocritcal/absurd/untrue. An anomaly/phenomenon! Thank you for your very thoughtful reply dragonfly and Happy Monday! :)
Well some people " believe" what they are told to believe and pass it along as if it were true. Which it isn't. That's how Trump has gotten this far. He lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and lies and tells the people who worship him it is true and they believe him and pass it along to others who believe him. It isn't logical but it is. And it very evil and destructive and senseless. Thank you for your reply Lulu'sMom and Happy Monday! :)
I NEVER believe what someone else tells me. I DO need to see it and hear it with my own eyes & ears. I always check info I am told by someone. Than I double check it.
I think I am lucky to have such a distrusting nature. Jim Jones could not have talked me into drinking the kool-aid, Charles Manson could not have talked me into killing people, Donald Trump won't convince me that he doesn't LIE every time he opens his mouth. Yep. I believe what I see. The debates & interview tapes haven't been doctored by some left-wing conspiracy. There isn't enough time in the universe to cover up all the **** that comes pouring out of his mouth.
Yes, it is a psychological defect. For some people the defect is insecurity. For others, it is meglomania.
I am very curious and question everyone and everything. I always ask "how do you KNOW that" and often am left hanging because people believe what they believe but often don't KNOW anything and so the question is embarrasing. They accept the rigid ideology unquestioningly and get angry when you point out any flaws. Thank you for your thoughtful reply Harry! :)
Most of what we know, or think we know, is learned from other people -- parents, teachers, peers, media, and so on. The trick is in learning to assess the information that comes our way before accepting or rejecting it.
Other sources make information available to us Didge. That is very true. But unless it makes sense to me I do not buy it. I am always questioning the erratic hypocritical things people say/do. They don't notice that they hold two opposing positions simultaneously which renders each untenable. You point that out and then you get attacked for daring to question the weirdness of it. I don't care. When something/someone makes sense there is no need to question. When something/someone doesn't there is not only the need but the obligation to question it. Which I always do much to the displeasure of those who cannot answer. Thank you for your reply! :)
dragonfly46 