5 ms·
If we are so very intelligent, then shouldn't we be smart enough to see that ad hominem attacks result in emotional responses overriding the rational desire to
by kiba 16y ago
If we are so very intelligent, then shouldn't we be smart enough to see that ad hominem attacks result in emotional responses overriding the rational desire to open our minds and learn, instead replacing those instincts with the knee-jerk defensive reaction of tightening our hold on our existing beliefs, right or wrong?
Human rationality and human intelligence does not alway meet each other. Human that are selected by evolution tend to use cognitive shortcuts as a matter of survival. It is not so useful for finding the truth, however.
So we're going to trip and make mistake. That's OK. As long as somebody point it out.
- mcantor 16y agoIt's funny how much we demonize prejudice (racism) while simultaneously relying on it for survival (don't stick your hand in the fire). Whoever designed this whole "evolution" nonsense clearly wasn't thinking about social communication at the outset... ;-)
- shadowfox 16y agoI am not sure you can classify "prejudice" as biologically useful in such a general sense as to include both racism and not sticking your hand in the fire
- mcantor 16y agoI disagree! Prejudice is simply, "Any preconceived opinion or feeling, whether positive or negative." If we are brought up by our parents to believe that Jewish people have horns, we are prejudiced. If we stick our hand in the fire, and thus form the "cognitive shortcut" (to use kiba's extremely apt term) that fire is not something to put our extremities close to, we are prejudiced. I think I see what you are saying, and agree that it is necessary to draw distinctions between obviously biologically useful prejudices (fire hurts) and less obviously useful ones (purple people are stupid), but my point was that they are borne by the same mechanism of "educated" preconception.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- shadowfox 16y agoI am not sure you used a full definition of prejudice there. For example wikipedia defines it as : A prejudice is a prejudgement: i.e. a preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment made without ascertaining the facts of a case and wordnet as _ preconception (a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation)* How is your definition of "prejudice" different from something simpler like "knowledge"?
- philwelch 16y agoRacism (well, tribalism) was the ancient's way of remembering to keep safe from potentially violent rival bands.