Why don't people believe Facts?

by The Rebel 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  The Rebel

  I have enjoyed some fascinating debates on the forum. I have found it interesting when" FACTS" have been presented to support a viewpoint, yet the " FACTS" have then been rejected.

  What does this mean?

  Well the " TRUTH" is as a dub, I was often presented with " FACTS" that the organisation was wrong, yet as this information challenged my belief system I convinced myself the " FACTS" were either completely wrong or misinterpreted,

  This is why I remained in " The Truth" :-Despite facts that my viewpoint was completely wrong?

  So because I felt threatened of the consequences to my belief system being wrong,regardless of how wrong I was I was never going to readjust my thinking and accept this new information despite it being true and the evidence presented with facts.

  This is :-

  A) Why I realise rather than facts driving my beliefs it has often been my belief system which has dictated the facts I choose to accept.

  B) And why I have tried when presented with contrary information to my be belief system, to accept my current thinking may be uninformed and that it is ok to change my mind.

  So in conclusion :

  a) Facts can be misinterpreted or take information out of context to support an argument.

  b) When facts are presented in an honest and irrefutable way, my dub past allows me to empathise with the resistance some on this board have in accepting those facts.

  Anyway any suggestions on how best to avoid unhealthy debates when people don't believe the facts.

  The Rebel.
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  maksutov

  It gets worse - showing someone facts that disprove their belief often has the effect of making their belief stronger. It is called the backfire effect: http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/06/10/the-backfire-effect/

  Some people claim to have had some success working around it (eg. Peter Boghossian), but it takes a lot of effort, and success is certainly not guaranteed!
  
• 

  OUTLAW

  Why don't people believe Facts?

  .........
• 

  2+2=5

  Some facts are not warm and fuzzy.

  Everlasting bliss in the spirit realm is where I am going and I am not even prepared to consider evidence to the contrary.

  *Fingers in ears*
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  slimboyfat

  There are no facts only interpretations. That's why I suggested to Paul Grundy years ago he should change his site from jwfacts to jwinterpretations.
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  cofty

  There are no facts

  Is that a fact?
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  OneGenTwoGroups

  There are no facts only interpretations. That's why I suggested to Paul Grundy years ago he should change his site from jwfacts to jwinterpretations.

  
  

  You could say that JWs oppose blood transfusions, but only if you wish to interpret the situation that way. LOL
  
  
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  DJS

  The Rebel,

  Because humans are an irrational, un-evolved species typically driven or led by their emotions, and emotions are the lowest rung on our socio-evolutionary ladder. Confirmation bias and pride are two of the primary factors, and both have everything to do with emotions and nothing to do with rational thought.

  From Wiki: "Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs (the only thing required to Believe is to Feel - DJS). People also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position (i.e. conspiracy theorists - DJS). Biased research, interpretation and memory have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series) and illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations).

  Explanations for the observed biases include wishful thinking and the limited human capacity to process information. Another explanation is that people show confirmation bias because they are weighing up the costs of being wrong (pride/arrogance - DJS), rather than investigating in a neutral, scientific way."

  
  

  Having said that, most of what we present in debates is more evidence than fact. We all should demand critical analysis of evidence, regardless of the topic. But alas, too many of us dig our furry hooved little feet into the concrete and clinch our tiny fists into balls and dig in for a fight.
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  slimboyfat

  Is that a fact?

  No it's an interpretation.
• 

  slimboyfat

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/259362/jwfacts-jwinterpretations?page=1&size=20