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My point is that adopting such point of view is a form of fatalism that leads to erosion of self-control.

• anoncake 7y ago
  Realizing that your and other's self-control has limits does not erode it any more than realizing you are not Usain Bolt keeps you from walking. But pretending it has no limits means we rely too much on it when instead we should reduce the need for it. It also means we expect people to resist manipulation when they simply can't.
  • V-2 7y ago
    But "someone tries to manipulate me" is a quite different mindset than "someone dictates my behavior turning my life it into something mindless" (to slightly paraphrase the comment I originally responded to). Perhaps it's a matter of phrasing that irked me.
    • anoncake 7y ago
      But the issue is not that someone tries to manipulate us, but that they – partially – succeed. So saying that they “dictate our behavior” may be hyperbole, but aside from that, it's the better mindset. Denying a problem exists is rarely useful. Of course if you understand “dictate” as “dictate to the extent that I cannot resist”, then you might as well deny the issue you believe you can't deal with anyway.