The “Confusion of Principles” is what I call what I believe is a mistake that many people make: believing that everything about them, no matter how minor or trivial (even something like a food preference) is “a principle” which must not be “betrayed”.
People seem to have some difficulty in separating:
- tastes or preferences;
- opinions;
- personality traits; and
- genuine principles.
How to tell them apart?
- a taste is something you like or dislike. Example: I like heavy metal music.
- an opinion is something you believe to be true about something. For instance, I think that George W. Bush is a criminal and a monster. (that’s for another article, by the way.)
- a trait is characteristic you have, which you may control to a certain degree. For instance, I tend to be a rather shy person.
- a principle is something which makes you do (or not do) something because you believe it is right (or wrong). Example: I don’t pirate music, software or movies, because I believe that doing so is wrong.
Easy, right? But I’ve seen people — quite often — believing that they will “betray their principles” if they eat some food they don’t like (and possibly never tasted), or if they overcome a minor character flaw, or if they change their minds about something. People can be very, very defensive about their mistakes, their flaws, or their changing of mind.
And, so, everything is turned into a “principle”, which means that nothing about them can ever change, as that would be a “betrayal”…
I believe it is absurd to cheapen the meaning of “principle” by saying that everything is a principle. As someone said, if every(thing, one, etc.) is special, then specialness is ordinary… If everything about you (even, say, your favorite color) is a “principle”, then your principles don’t really amount to much…
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In a psychological point of view, it is not that hard to understand.
Imagine this: you built for yourself a nice hut, you’re very proud of it and you like it very much. Then someone comes along and tells you it’s bad, wrong or that it is not a hut at all…
Even if that someone is right, how would you feel if someone told you what you do or feel is wrong?
People are naturally defensive against change, there’s no argument there. Inertia is the word to know, and, according to dictionary.com, it means: Resistance or disinclination to motion, action, or change.
Nobody (or so I believe) likes to get up from the couch to pick up the phone, or getting up from bed, or even taking the trash out. If inanimate objects object to being moved, why wouldn’t we? It’s gone from a physical law to a psychological one. Psychoanalysis has some very interesting things to say on the subject. I do not remember too much about them, but I think individual research will do better job at learning it than me writing it here, seeing as this isn’t my opinion blog
Sure, some “mental blocks” may seem absurd to outsiders, but if you were taught to drive on the left lane, wouldn’t driving on the right one seem wrong?
It is one thing to understand one’s point of view, but it is a wholly different matter to CHANGE from our point of view to someone else’s.
Also, I believe that is is JUST as wrong to shut yourself off from new experiences as is forcing others to live them. If someone wants to stay ignorant, they should be allowed to stay ignorant, just as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.
I’ll give you a personal example: I believe money is the most important thing in the world. Why? Because it is the only thing that can bring true happiness. In our current society, without money, you’re going nowhere. You need money to survive, you need money for luxuries. Hell, you even need money to show someone else you love them. No matter how small the ammount, it’ll be that much money that gets you through. If someone comes up and tells me: “No, you’re wrong. Love/God/Happiness/Phil Collins/Blue Screwdrivers/Seven-hundred beers and five-hundred prostitutes is/are the most important thing in the world, I will object as long as it I state it is my view of things. I’ll try to make my point, as will my “opponent” try to make his. If one of us oversteps the limit, and begins a violent attempt at “conversion”, then it’s a crime, for all I care.
In a discussion, it is instinct to prove you’re right, and (s)he’s/they’re wrong… but it’s just plain stupid to force your opinion down someone else’s throat.
PS: I am quite aware I may have dumped some personal stuff on this comment, but it’s 7:21 AM and I want to go to bed