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It's a fascinating point that you brought up there at the end. The self-help/positive psychology industry has indeed been accused of reinforcing status quo mora
by nefitty 11y ago
It's a fascinating point that you brought up there at the end. The self-help/positive psychology industry has indeed been accused of reinforcing status quo morality, that simply by urging people to make themselves fit in the world instead of urging them to change the world to fit their needs, those writers are complicit in the immoral aspects of the system. I don't see why habits necessarily have to favor the entrenched cultural norms, though. From what I glean, radical terrorist groups utilize habit formation in the form of literature, military training, etc. These same tools are used by legitimate militaries throughout the world. By that token, what exactly holds moral value in these two examples? I say the moral aspect is separate from habitual behavior. An interesting thing here then is that any truly effective political movement would take advantage of habit formation in support of it's ends. It's a powerful, cheap tool, and one that to me is completely amoral in the abstract. On that note, subcultures could push certain moralities by covertly reinforcing specific beliefs and behaviors.