Why is it that some people seem incapable of independently holding convictions independently from the crowd? Why is it that facts will just bounce off these people and they seem to be un-persuadable with reason and evidence?

Group Think

‘Group think’ is the concept of following the herd in terms of what is generally ‘believed’ to be true. Rather than arriving at conclusions about the world independently it is the tendency to preferentially go with the consensus. But this is a broad concept and it is not a primary. What causes it? What lies at its root? There are several components that need to be considered in the process of answering this question which I will examine below. But first…

Here are the links that I mention in this podcast. The first is to Episode 100 with Bo Bennet on Logical Fallacies Bo Bennet wrote the book Logically Fallacious. And here is the link to my rational explanation of Emotions. Understanding emotions is so important, and yet within the Matrix it is all back to front.

You can listen to the Podcast above, or watch it on Youtube below.

Subjectivism

Subjectivism is basically the idea that reality is what ever it is said to be and that there is no objective reality existing independent of consciousness. There are three kinds of subjectivism.

1. Supernatural subjectivism: which is when the truth is whatever a deity or supernatural being says it is.

2. Collective subjectivism: which is when truth is whatever the group or society says it is.

3. Personal subjectivism which is when truth is whatever the individual believes/feels it to be.

Notably, no proof, evidence or logic are required to back up the subjecvist claims. A common example of personal subjectivism in this context is when someone cannot believe that something could be true if they personally cannot conceive of how it could be true. It is very similar to the way they can’t conceive that other people can commit some atrocity or evil that they themselves would not commit.

It is essentially a philosophical assumption in the mental operating system of people that doesn’t not correlate with reality. It can arise from a limited knowledge base which necessarily limits the capacity for understanding.

Inability to think logically

Decades of woefully inadequate education have left the vast majority of populations incapable of assessing the logical strength of arguments. In fact, the majority don’t realise the central importance of the logical argument, and have not developed an ability to follow the rational argument at all. Logical thinking is simply not practiced and not appreciated.

This has become endemic in modern post truth western culture. Facts, evidence, logic and proof are no longer relevant in the process of finding truth for far to many people. A shocking example of this is in the entire community of microbiologists and virologists who do not question the standard methods for the ‘so-called’ isolation of viruses. See the video below for more details.

Appeal to Authority and Emotions

Two key logical fallacies further support the concept of group think. Once people have no ability to follow the logical argument they are very easily fooled by logical fallacies

The delegation to authority is supremely powerful in the minds of those who are not independent thinkers, those who are not sovereign intellectually and psychologically independent. Delegation to authority is justifiable and necessary to some degree. But ultimately, responsibility must be taken for the chosen sources of information from which we get information. Then the information must be logically scrutinised. The truth seeker must never accept any claims on blind faith...