"What a man believes upon grossly insufficient evidence is an index into his desires -- desires of which he himself is often unconscious. If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way."
Bertrand Russell
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Curious Nature of Absurdity
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3 comments:
It amazed me how u found this quote, as it fits a similar situation here.
Sometimes, and shall I say, most of the time, people around u would just choose what they want to hear, believe what they want to know... without considering other people's feelings and justification.
And by the end of the day, there's no one else to blame but u and u are helpless to back yourself up because they just refuse to listen anymore.....
interesting. fair enough. so. what makes an instinct, an instinct in the first place?
Unjustified assumptions. Which I believe is unavoidable, but never a good enough basis to pass on judgement.
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