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Confirmation Bias and Epistemic Closure

I learned a new word today…or pair of words—“epistemic closure.” Julian Sanchez used this term two years ago in conjunction with another term I recently learned and shared here—“confirmation bias.” To summarize, this refers to the human tendency to choose to believe what we want to, seek confirmation for that perspective, and shut out anything contrary. (See Sanchez’ observation at: http://www.juliansanchez.com/2010/04/07/epistemic-closure-technology-and-the-end-of-distance/)

Sanchez noted also that this is a human problem and not the exclusive province of any group or any ideology. But he did opine that it appeared to be a particularly egregious problem with the conservative movement in our country at that time; and, he would certainly agree that the problem is much worse in the intensity of this election campaign. This is becoming even more obvious in the past week, with Mr. Romney experiencing an hiccup in the polls, and the conservative press attacking the polls themselves, even Fox News.

The problem with this view of reality is the insularity. Feedback from the outside is discouraged and even in the greatest extremes forbidden. This always leads to madness. No, I’m not saying the conservative movement is mad; but I am saying there is madness on its extremes and these extremes have had too much influence on them. Even Karl Rove himself dismissed these extremists as “the nutty fringe.”

Emily Dickinson knew something about an insular life and her adaptation to this anguish was poetry. Here is an example:

The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing
At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
I’ve known her from an ample nation
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.
The image of closing “the valves of her attention” is intense and vivid, cold and brutal. The person who does this has shut out the world and, like Hamlet, retreated “to a nutshell” and there comforts himself in “being king of infinite spaces.” Mental illness is a reference problem. When we have closed off all reference to the outside world, we are nuts. And on that note, Hamlet asked, “What is it to be mad but nothing else but mad?”

A Paranoid Political Rant with a Serious Point!

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Hurricane Isaac’s approach to Tampa and points west have piqued the deep recesses of my brain, stirring an interpretation angle that I don’t like to acknowledge. I’m gonna have some fun with it here. Let me start with David Letterman’s quip last week: Hurricane Isaac’s attack on Tampa proves to be, beyond doubt, that God is a woman!
Here is paranoid rant # 1 (from about a week ago):
The wrath of God is bearing down on Tampa and the Republican Nominating Convention. Clearly God is answering my prayers…and those of other Truth-believing, Truth-telling Democrats…and is gonna wreak havoc on those God-forsaken Republicans. God will not truck with those that believe differently than I do, He does not tolerate compromise with the Truth, and he is tired of these lousy people who never have read “Being and Nothingness”, “Thus Spake Zarathustra”, the “Kama Sutra,” and “The Huffington Post.” Oh, I should add, “He is tired of those who can’t read in the first place and who, only one generation back, were not walking upright.”
But, alas and alack, the path of Isaac was diverted and New Orleans is facing its fury. So, here is paranoid, insane rant #2:
So, God clearly had a change of heart and decided to spare Tampa and the GOP the brunt of his wrath, meting out to them merely a slap on the wrist. For, you see, god chose to answer another one of my prayers and take care of unfinished business from six years ago. You see, back then he gave New Orleans a scourging because of its sin and iniquity when he sent Katrina. But, he spared Bourbon Street, that bastion of perversity and degradation. Now, he has turned Isaac in the direction of New Orleans and this time he is gonna beat the hell out of Bourbon Street.
Now the scary part of this nonsense is that it does reflect the residue of the way I was taught. Anyone who can even think this way…even sarcastically as I have done here…has at his/her disposal a very skewed view of the world. And yes I was taught such a view and it is still present in some whimsical, capricious fashion though I give it no energy in the least.
Our view of God does not say so much about God as it does about ourselves, ourselves in the very depths of our hearts; not the selves that we present to the world but the ones that lie buried in our unconscious depths. I’m going to illustrate with only one of the right-wing crazies who have crawled out from under the rocks the past four years—Michelle “Deep Penetration” Bachman. In addition her recent paranoid fears about Muslim infiltration of our government, remember how she attributed natural disasters about a year ago to God’s judgment on our country, saying, “I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We’ve had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, ‘Are you going to start listening to me here?’”
I quote Jesus here, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” And anyone whose heart is full of this paranoid filth does not need to have the prominence in our government that she has. I gravely fear what direction our country will take if it is led by people of that ilk. (AND, by the way, I do NOT think all Republicans are like her.)
Bachman lives in a very rigid cause-effect, right-wrong, black-white world. Reality is much more subtle than that. Now we must have “cause-effect, right-wrong, black-white” world but we do not need to be consumed by it. We need to realize that there is another world “out there” which is paradoxically “in here” and the Presence of that world gives us pause and keeps us from getting too arrogant. That Presence gently reminds us that we always “see through a glass darkly.” Though wrongs in the world, i.e. “evil”, need to be addressed, the primary focus of our energy needs to be the “evil” that lurks within. And, contrary to people like Ms. Bachman, there is a lot of evil in good people. In fact…and this is getting far out I admit…but I posit the notion that the “gooder” you get the more evil you have to deal with!

The Flat Earth Society?

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We look with bemusement today on the Flat Earth Society and stand amazed that this was the prevailing world view at one point in the past. And I’m sure that when the world was believed to be flat, many were persecuted and even killed for daring to question that “modern science” of the day. Of course, now we know that we are far beyond such tomfoolery and look at the world in the way that is objective, having finally grasped…pretty well…the nature of reality.

But I just don’t think that is the case. “Reality” is always in flux and in time to come there will be certain facets of today’s prevailing wisdom that our descendants will view with the same bemusement and scorn. And, this is true individually as well as collectively. There are so many things which I accept as common place today which forty years ago would have been preposterous.

This insight gives me pause very often. For example, I have very strong feelings about the current political campaign in the United States. And I see how polarized our country is on the same issue. But, as they say, “This too shall pass.” I don’t know what will transpire but I do have faith that “there is a wisdom that doeth shape our ends, rough hew them how we may.” (Shakespeare)

A core issue is the transitory nature of life, including our belief systems. If we could only remember that at best we “see through a glass darkly” then perhaps we could be a bit less arrogant of regarding “the bad guys” and, with a little bit of luck and a strong tail wind, perhaps they will be a little less arrogant regarding us!

On this issue…and I realize it is a recurrent theme of mine…I always like to share an observation from W. H. Auden who posited the notion that our agreed-upon conventional reality hides the:

Snarl of the abyss
That lies just underneath
Our jolly picnic on the heath
Of the agreeable, where we bask,
Agreed upon what we will not ask,
Bland, sunny, and adjusted by the light
Of the collected lie.

Political Evisceration

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Political Evisceration

I live in Northwest Arkansas where chickens rule. Don Tyson and Tyson Inc. is one of the world’s largest chicken producers and chicken farms and related enterprises are an essential part of the local economy. In the processing plants, “eviscerator” is one of the job titles and these poor souls have the task of gutting the poor fowl as he heads toward our dinner table. One good natured insult we “high brows” can trot out to friends is that they are only talented enough to look for work as an “eviscerator”.

Well, the Democratic eviscerating machinery is now working on Paul Ryan. It was watching this intricate, well-oiled mechanism spring into gear when Ryan was named on Saturday. And now he is being carved up like a Christmas turkey…to switch my metaphor.

Now my point here is not to praise Ryan or his party. I’m a liberal Democrat. My point is the mindless and ruthless evisceration by the media and that of course draws on the antipathy springing from the political process. Sure, Ryan’s positions need to be viewed critically. But the petty, relentless fury of this criticism makes it appear like Ryan is merely a piece of red meat that has been tossed to a pack of hungry dogs.

The focus needs to be on the values reflected in the positions of the candidates and their parties. And, focus on values always amounts more or less to a spiritual enterprise. But the subtleties of a spiritual enterprise will not score big with the “bread and circus” mentality of us news consumers

Praise for Republicans

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I actually feel some sympathy for Rick Perry re his memory lapse in last night’s debate. He really screwed up and embarrassed himself and probably knows that this was the death-knell of his campaign. But I cringe when someone humiliates himself anywhere, especially in a national forum. I commend him for acknowledging this even then, with his “oops” comment, and even later when he admitted, “I stepped in it.” (I like that course image as we all know what “it” was that he stepped in.) And I’m impressed that he didn’t trot out the usual political refrain, “Well, I certainly was amiss on that occasion,” and which point they trot out their talking points, prefaced with, “But, here is my central message…..” He didn’t do that. Well, at least he has not of yet. I personally hope that he drops out, returns to Texas, looks seriously into his campaign and the issues that it brought to the surface, that he will delve more deeply into his faith and explore that faith more fully, and then will resurface to engage meaningfully…and hopefully with more humility…in the rest of his life.

And, yes, even a word of praise for Michelle Bachman, though I grimace at the prospect of praising this very simple, not-ready-for-primetime woman. But I like her idea of imposing a tax liability on that 50% of the population who pay no income taxes each year, perhaps even $10.00. And, yes, this responsibility could cost them a “happy meal” or two, or even better yet a couple of packs of cigarettes. But, it would help impose reality on them and I fear that with the “welfare state” we do create a false reality for many. Now, of course, there would have to be exceptions. There are those who could not afford even $10.00 and do not have even the luxury of a “happy meal” or cigarettes.

God, I hope I don’t rot in hell for offering even the faintest praise for this appalling political character! But I must always remember, “Even a blind pig finds a walnut eve now and then.”

Mormonism and the GOP

All Republicans are racist!!!!!!!

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Tag Archives: Republican

Confirmation Bias and Epistemic Closure

A Paranoid Political Rant with a Serious Point!

The Flat Earth Society?

Political Evisceration

Praise for Republicans

Mormonism and the GOP

All Republicans are racist!!!!!!!