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I think your statements are more well supported by a different hypothesis: these effects have been caused by a shift to being a more emotionally driven society.

I think your statements are more well supported by a different hypothesis: these effects have been caused by a shift to being a more emotionally driven society. Emotions are what cause people to ignore truths or even invent their own, even when they likely know deep inside that they're lying to themselves. Emotion is what causes knee jerk responses to failure. Emotion and emotionality is, in general, the key cause behind practically all irrational behavior. The most dangerous thing is we live in a society where not only has emotionally driven thinking become far more prevalent, but there seems to be a top down effort to encourage even greater levels of emotionality.

dgut 8y ago
Really curious to know what you mean by "an emotionally driven society". What does that imply?
- s-shellfish 8y ago
  Literally that. Knee jerk reactions that have nothing to do with reality. Getting lost in lala land over beliefs that can't be proven, but are sentiment driven. Attachment.
- TangoTrotFox 8y ago
  A society where the primary driver behind decisions is emotional rather than rational. For instance when individuals choose their views not based on an impartial analysis of the choices (and their consequences in particular), but on which view is most emotionally appealing or acceptable to them. And when evidence which comes into conflict with those emotionally chosen views is presented, is the response emotional or is it rational? Even when deciding on an individual system of morals, are choices driven by emotion or by rationality? For many people, the answers to all of these questions is now heavily emotional. This is dangerous in many ways. Aside from the fact that emotions can and regularly do lead people to make very bad decisions, they are also regularly exploited by others for their own benefit. Politicians get people to support them or oppose their opponents with emotional arguments. The media gets people to click on things by creating emotional stories. Even individuals can increasingly exploit others' emotionality to either try to increase their own perceived 'standing' in some group, or at times even for direct economic benefit.

dgut 8y ago

Really curious to know what you mean by "an emotionally driven society". What does that imply?

s-shellfish 8y ago
Literally that. Knee jerk reactions that have nothing to do with reality. Getting lost in lala land over beliefs that can't be proven, but are sentiment driven. Attachment.
TangoTrotFox 8y ago
A society where the primary driver behind decisions is emotional rather than rational. For instance when individuals choose their views not based on an impartial analysis of the choices (and their consequences in particular), but on which view is most emotionally appealing or acceptable to them. And when evidence which comes into conflict with those emotionally chosen views is presented, is the response emotional or is it rational? Even when deciding on an individual system of morals, are choices driven by emotion or by rationality? For many people, the answers to all of these questions is now heavily emotional. This is dangerous in many ways. Aside from the fact that emotions can and regularly do lead people to make very bad decisions, they are also regularly exploited by others for their own benefit. Politicians get people to support them or oppose their opponents with emotional arguments. The media gets people to click on things by creating emotional stories. Even individuals can increasingly exploit others' emotionality to either try to increase their own perceived 'standing' in some group, or at times even for direct economic benefit.