Grampaw Willie, SASS No.26996 Posted November 23, 2017 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I thought several time about writing this. It's not an easy topic but one I end up thinking about quite often. I often say simply "you cannot counter an emotional argument with facts" This morning's Suggested Reading seems to support that Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter (Portfolio/Penguin, 2017) by "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams. The above references an abstract written by Anthony J. Sadar and published on American Thinker this morning. While these notes are related to the 2016 election the process described is also relevant to other arguments as well such as Gun Control. Excerpt Quote Adams argues a "Persuasion Filter" for an evolutionary "moist robot" worldview, where humans can be "easily influenced by emotional and irrational factors." He goes on to advise that "f you learn the mechanisms of this influence, you have found the user interface for human beings." Adams further notes that "[w]hen our feelings turn on, our sense of reason shuts off. ... [O]ur decisions are often made without appeal to the rational parts of our brains. We literally make our decisions first and then create elaborate rationalizations for them after the fact." "Cognitive dissonance" is a term used for how people rationalize their decisions. It's related to "confirmation bias," where all evidence is seen to confirm established beliefs. Both conditions were in robust operation during the past presidential election. Let's all enjoy TG Dinner and the Football Games Link to comment
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