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> frightened into rationality An oxymoron if I ever heard one. To become rational means letting go of fears (to a large extent). I fear that one reason we fail
by worldsayshi 2y ago
> frightened into rationality
An oxymoron if I ever heard one. To become rational means letting go of fears (to a large extent). I fear that one reason we fail to act is that we are guided by fear. Fear makes us focus on the wrong things. And I fear that in a civilized society fear becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Fear makes us obsess about the problem and how to avoid it in the very narrow and short term. It doesn't make us very good at long term planning and execution. It's an instinct that is evolved for animals that want to avoid predators, not for civilization builders.
Building a civilization requires vision, big plans and the feeling that we can afford bold ideas. We need to take risks. But how can we take more risks when we're constantly afraid of the future? How can we build a better future when all we do all day is imagining the worst possible future? If our minds are constantly occupied by dystopia we can't plan for anything else. So that's what we build.
- hmmmhmmm 2y agoI'm in the same camp, and I go step further and avoid places where fear is the main tune.
- lynx97 2y agoI must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
- mola 2y agoAs I see it, Optimism is usually unrational but drives change and Fear kills optimism. Trust is not purely rational its emotional. Fear kills trust, making you more rational in the sense that you assume other players are rationally adversarial.
- worldsayshi 2y agoAs I see it, pessimism is as "unrational" as optimism. There's a big span of uncertainty about the future that is filled by our intentions and beliefs. If we commit to a pessimistic worldview we are likely to make some decisions that lead towards such a world. If we commit to an optimistic worldview we are likely to get exploited by bad actors. We have to be able to juggle both realities. That is rational. (But I think we are essentially saying the same thing here.)
- absolutelastone 2y agoI'd argue we evolved to think rationally in order to specifically advance our instinctive drives, rather than the "Triume brain" view of the neocortex and lizard brain fighting for dominance. Immediate and extreme danger enforces a realistic and calculating view of reality, when otherwise people tend to avoid thinking about or dealing with a danger. Courage is the ability to choose an alternative besides first choice of fear. But it isn't necessarily rational either, more likely a different instinctive motivation winning out. A completely emotionless person, meanwhile, would probably be completely nonfunctional.