How do we distinguish between the legitimate skepticism of those who scoffed at cold fusion, and the stifling dogma of the seventeenthcentury clergymen who, doubting Galileo's claim that the earth was not the center of the solar system, put him under house arrest for the last eight years of his life? In part, the answer lies in the distinction between skepticism and closed-mindedness. Many scientists who were skeptical about cold fusion nevertheless tried to replicate the reported phenomenon in their own labs; Galileo's critics refused to look at the pertinent data.
Thomas GilovichTags: mind psychology logic human-behavior
We humans seem to be extremely good at generating ideas, theories, and explanations that have the ring of plausibility. We may be relatively deficient, however, in evaluating and testing our ideas once they are formed
Thomas GilovichTags: mind psychology logic human-behavior
For desired conclusions, we ask ourselves, "Can I believe this?", but for unpalatable conclusions we ask, "Must I believe this?
Thomas GilovichTags: belief mind psychology logic human-behavior
What we believe is heavily influenced by what we think others believe
Thomas GilovichTags: mind psychology logic human-behavior
When we do cross paths with people whose beliefs and attitudes conflict with our own, we are rarely challenged.
Thomas GilovichTags: mind psychology logic human-behavior
People will always prefer black-and-white over shades of grey, and so there will always be the temptation to hold overly-simplified beliefs and to hold them with excessive confidence
Thomas GilovichTags: mind psychology logic human-behavior
The right thing was confusing, and difficult, and sometimes Jason wondered if it was in fact a nonexistent ideal, like heaven or the American dream. There was no right thing. You did what you did for whatever reasons occurred to you at the time, depending on whichever emotion was running thickest in your blood. Your desire and fear and adrenaline and longing. You made your choice and came up with the reasons later.
Thomas MullenTags: decisions emotion logic choices reasons
But that's men all over ... Poor dears, they can't help it. They haven't got logical minds.
Dorothy L. SayersTags: men satire logic irony logical-thinking
The inconsistencies that haunt our relationships with animals also result from the quirks of human cognition. We like to think of ourselves as the rational species. But research in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics shows that our thinking and behavior are often completely illogical. In one study, for example, groups of people were independently asked how much they would give to prevent waterfowl from being killed in polluted oil ponds. On average, the subjects said they would pay $80 to save 2,000 birds, $78 to save 20,000 birds, and $88 to save 200,000 birds. Sometimes animals act more logically than people do; a recent study found that when picking a new home, the decisions of ant colonies were more rational than those of human house-hunters.
What is it about human psychology that makes it so difficult for us to think consistently about animals? The paradoxes that plague our interactions with other species are due to the fact that much of our thinking is a mire of instinct, learning, language, culture, intuition, and our reliance on mental shortcuts.
Tags: paradox thinking animals ethics psychology logic illogical cognition charity rationalism rational-thought decision-making behavior
You can't win. Logic has no power over her when her territory has been invaded by heathens.
Mira GrantTags: logic
« first previous
Page 9 of 27.
next last »
Data privacy
Imprint
Contact
Diese Website verwendet Cookies, um Ihnen die bestmögliche Funktionalität bieten zu können.