What is the psychology of evasion?

[tommyedison]

Sometimes when I have arguments with people on the topic Capitalism versus Mixed Economy, it ends with them saying "You are right but I still have faith in the government and its ability to provide a better quality product". And these are guys who have nothing to gain from the government only to lose to the government through taxes.

What is the psychology and philosophy of these people that permits such a gross evasion of reality possible?

(Corrected spelling in title -softwareNerd)

Edited June 23, 2005 by softwareNerd

[stephen_speicher]

Sometimes when I have arguments with people on the topic Capitalism versus Mixed Economy, it ends with them saying "You are right but I still have faith in the government and its ability to provide a better quality product". And these are guys who have nothing to gain from the government only to lose to the government through taxes.

What is the psycology and philosophy of these people that permits such a gross evasion of reality possible?

You have to be extremely careful in attributing evasion to another. There can often be a myriad of reasons, not always evasion, which explain someone's thoughts and actions. For instance, in your own example I would want to know exactly what the person meant when he said "You are right." He may not be acknowledging as being "right" the same thing that you think he is. You are new to Objectivism, and relatively new to many of these ideas, and what you argued may have seemed persuasive to you but, with all due respect, you may not have gotten the ideas across the way you think that you did.

That is just one possibility, but there are endless others, and the "faith" that he expressed towards government action could mean many different things to him. Understanding another person's psychology -- attributing motivations to him -- is not a task to be taken lightly. In fact, some have identified a characteristic of a number of first-year Objectivists, as being too quick to brand people as evaders just because they do not agree with them, or, at least, are not immediately convinced by the Objectivist arguments.

Also, an interesting phenomena that I have noted over the years while arguing with others, is that sometimes the most vociferous objections are nothing more than the last death throes of the other person's long-held convictions. Just something to keep in mind.

[oldsalt]

Well put, Stephen. Human psychology is never simple.

There is a danger in attempting to apply general philosophy to an individual's psychological make up. Philosophy can tell you a lot, but you can never discount a person's unique experiences and the way those experiences affect him. While there are those people who really are as shallow and/or simple as they seem, most people are psychologically complex.

[stephen_speicher]

While there are those people who really are as shallow and/or simple as they seem, most people are psychologically complex.

And the problem is that we cannot get inside another person's mind. We make our judgments based on all of the information available to us, but those complexities are often hidden from our direct view. It is much easier to judge people by their actions then it is to know and understand their motivations.

[oldsalt]

And the problem is that we cannot get inside another person's mind. We make our judgments based on all of the information available to us, but those complexities are often hidden from our direct view. It is much easier to judge people by their actions then it is to know and understand their motivations.

Thank you, Stephen, for finishing the thought.