Sunday
The cognitive dissonance you speak of is found on the right as well, it is not confined to the left. Actually, the problem is, there is no dissonance, there is an honest and fair dinkum doublethink, with no internal conflict.
- CountingCats, commenting here.
Well, everyone's in a state of cognitive dissonance all the time. We all over invest in our beliefs and we all suffer negative emotional states when those beliefs are stressed.
Only the saints amongst us can listen to an opponent's arguments knocking the stuffing out of our fundamental beliefs and then calmly say, "By golly Sir, you're quite right! What and idiot I've been to believe my nonsense for so long!"
Doublethink is a whole different kettle of fish. The ability to hold two mutually contradictory beliefs in one's head at the same time without suffering the emotional stress that comes with CogDiss is probably quite rare.
For instance, many muslim radicals seem quite happy to cheer Al Quaeda for the 911 outrages, while asserting that Mossad did it. Is this doublethink, CogDiss or plain lying?
The emotional states ascribed to Cognitive Dissonance - anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress - seem quite common amongst those muslim radicals, and perhaps most radicals.
So when Dr. Hansen and the AGW true believers start banging on about 'Coal trains of death' and 'Crimes against humanity' whilst ignoring the evidence that suggests their apocalyptic predictions are not, in fact, coming to pass, perhaps we need to examine their emotional states to discover whether they are lying, cognitively dissonent, or plain batshit crazy.
Posted by Kevin B at March 29, 2009 04:25 PM
Well, everyone's in a state of cognitive dissonance all the time
Speak for yourself :-P
Posted by Janine at March 29, 2009 09:02 PM
The ordinary Muslim in the street cheers Al Quaeda for striking back at the crusader mentality, breaking the cycle of exploitation of the Arab states by the West, striking a blow against the pernicious influence of International Zionism, and raising up a sword in the name of Allah to defend all of Islam.
The actual killing of innocent people? Mossad did that.
otpu
Posted by otpu at March 30, 2009 06:43 AM
"The Crusader Mentality".
Have Muslims ever asked themselves how Islam GOT to Palestine in the first place? By invitation?
The sensitivity about Crusading is, IMHO, psychological projection.
Posted by Tim Carpenter at March 30, 2009 09:23 AM
Have Muslims ever asked themselves how Islam GOT to Palestine in the first place?
They know very well how Islam got Palestine. I quote from the Hamas Charter, Article 11:
This is the status (of the land) in Islamic Shari'a, and it is similar to all lands conquered by Islam by force, and made thereby Waqf lands upon their conquest, for all generations of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. This (norm) has prevailed since the commander of the Muslim armies completed the conquest of Syria and Iraq ,
The point is, for Islam violent conquest is right and proper, but ONLY for Islam.
Posted by CountingCats at March 30, 2009 12:26 PM
