Dealing With Our Irrational Minds – What's Your REAL Reason?

Some people seem to be irrational almost ALL of the time. Even people who are EXTREMELY rational SOME of the time are still irrational MUCH of the time.

I am no exception. I have to admit I often buy groceries based on which packaging appeals to me more. I'll buy something with a picture of a tiger on it, or a tree; before something with a kitten, or a flower. That's not very rational but that's what I do in the absence of other, overriding information.

In a way we have to do this. We don't have time in life to think hard and deep and do detailed research and analysis every time we make a decision.

So on minor decisions, go ahead and revel in your irrationality and go with your instincts or feelings and do what you want and don't worry about it.

Most people would agree, though, that on very serious decisions, with potentially serious consequences, we should be more careful in our decision making; we should be more rational.

A presidential election is very serious and certainly if we ever need to be rational it is when deciding who to vote into the White House. But how do we know if we are being rational? Maybe I don't like Trump because he wears his ties too long, or because his hair is... well... like THAT, or because a teacher criticized me in 2nd grade and Trump's nose reminds me of that teacher. Maybe one of these possibilities is the REAL reason I dislike Trump and maybe all my rational sounding explanations and arguments are just excuses and covers for that REAL reason.

Now first I want to say that I am being very serious here. I am not making up ridiculous examples. I think many important decisions in life are based on subtle, almost subconscious, reasons just like these.

I have noticed many times that if someone says I believe in A because of reason X and then you disprove X the person will say oh wait, the real reason I believe in A is because of Y, and then if you disprove Y the person will say oh wait, the real reason I believe in A is because of Z.... And so on.

The truth is they may not even know WHY they believe in A. They just believe in A for SOME reason but all the stated reasons are not the real reason, they are excuses or covers for the real reason.

A person might say they have three reasons any one of which justifies belief in A. That's fine. But if we disprove all three of those reasons and then they shift to other reasons we are in the same position we described in the preceding paragraph. It seems the person we are talking to is not giving us REAL reasons.

Sometimes these people may actually know the real reason they believe in A and not want to say it. Maybe it is embarrassing or socially unacceptable in some way. But at other times I think these people really DO NOT KNOW why they believe A. They just do.

I do not criticize this second group of people. They are following subconscious urges, as we all do, and trying to provide rational justification for their beliefs and actions, as we all do. They are just failing to get at the REAL reason, or even an ADEQUATE reason.

Now we get to the point of this little essay. I oppose Trump very strongly. It is POSSIBLE that my REAL reasons are buried deep within my subconscious and I don't even know what they are. It is POSSIBLE that something about Trump, maybe some gesture he makes, reminds me of the 4th grade teacher who infuriated me by making me stand in the corner.

If this is true, if my real opposition to Trump is based on one or more long-buried memories in my subconscious then I may NEVER know the REAL reason I oppose Trump. That is a possibility I have to accept.

But we still have to make decisions in life and in serious cases we need to be rational so what can we do?

Even if there are cases where we cannot be sure what the REAL reason is for our beliefs and actions we can still make sure we have an ADEQUATE reason.

An adequate reason is one that is strong enough to explain our belief or action, and that rationally justifies our belief or action, even if the REAL reason is something different that we don't even know or understand.

An adequate reason is also one that we are willing to apply to everyone, no matter who they are or what party they belong to or what our instincts and feelings tell us about them.

Here is an example. Why do I oppose Trump? I will answer in the form of a syllogism:
No one without government experience should be president.
Trump has no government experience.
Therefore, Trump should not be president.

And here is a second argument:
No one who praises dictators should be president.
Trump praises dictators.
Therefore, Trump should not be president.

If I say that these are the reasons I oppose Trump then if someone can disprove them I should stop opposing Trump. If these arguments are disproved and I stop supporting Trump then I can argue that my position is rational even if I don't know the REAL or subconscious motivations behind it.

If someone disproves these reasons and I continue to oppose Trump then either I am not being rational or, at very least, I have so far failed to prove my rationality.

One last point – the first line in each of my arguments is actually a value judgment rather than a statement of fact. Value judgments cannot be proven either true or false so maybe this is just another trick to support my irrational choice and prevent anyone from exposing my irrationality?

In the case of arguments involving value judgments we can demonstrate we are being rational by using the same standard to judge everyone. For example, if the Democrats nominate someone in 2020 and that person has no government experience or praises dictators and if I, nevertheless, support them, then you will know that my stated reasons for opposing Trump were neither REAL nor ADEQUATE.

If, on the other hand, I oppose that nominee in 2020 then that will provide support for the conclusion that my reasons are both rational and ADEQUATE, whether or not they are REAL which, perhaps only years of psychotherapy could determine.

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Copyright © 2016 by Joseph Wayne Gadway