Black & White Thinking and Anecdotal Evidence Permeate the Governing Body's Teachings, Talks, and Reasonings

by frankiespeakin 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    The Governing Body maintain the delusions that they are on a sacred mission as the biblical F&DS by gigantic leaps in logic, brought on anecdotal evidence and cherry picking facts or comfirmation bias, and these things are major causes of depression for those who indulge in this type of reasonings

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-tsilimparis/stress-and-dualistic-mind_b_978230.html

    ""Throughout our lives, we often inspire undue stress and anxiety by viewing our existence with a "dualistic mind." We create a world of private duality, a world that is limited to fixed or black and white thinking. We do this because it gives us a (false) sense of security and control over life's uncertainties. The dualistic mind tricks us into thinking we have this "life" thing figured out, and we don't have to struggle and search anymore. And that feels good -- but only temporarily.

    The truth is this all-or-nothing mentality actually narrows our vision and creates insecurity. For example, the dualistic mind impels us to judge ourselves as:

    right or wrong
    good or bad
    strong or weak
    smart or stupid
    success or failure

    This type of thinking colors all of our experiences and pressures us to live in the irrational realm of extremes. But the color that infrequently exists in the dualistic mind is the "gray." The unflinching dualistic mind has no balance in its thought process. It is all one-sided and usually very inflexible....."

    Anecdotal Evidence or cherry picking facts motivated by confirmation bias are featured heavily in Governing Body statements and teachings.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence

    See also: Confirmation bias and Cherry picking (fallacy)

    The expression anecdotal evidence refers to evidence from anecdotes. Because of the small sample, there is a larger chance that it may be unreliable due to cherry-picked or otherwise non-representative samples of typical cases. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Anecdotal evidence is considered dubious support of a claim; it is accepted only in lieu of more solid evidence. This is true regardless of the veracity of individual claims. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]

    The term is often used in contrast to scientific evidence, such as evidence-based medicine, which are types of formal accounts. Some anecdotal evidence does not qualify as scientific evidence because its nature prevents it from being investigated using the scientific method. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is an informal fallacy and is sometimes referred to as the "person who" fallacy ("I know a person who..."; "I know of a case where..." etc. Compare with hasty generalization). Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily representative of a "typical" experience; in fact, human cognitive biases such as confirmation bias mean that exceptional or confirmatory anecdotes are much more likely to be remembered. Accurate determination of whether an anecdote is "typical" requires statistical evidence. [ 6 ] [ 7 ]

    Accounts of direct personal experience are commonly equated to anecdotal evidence where the evidence is anecdote, hearsay or represents a conclusion deduced from generalisation. Unlike anecdotal evidence, the reliability of accounts of personal experience is normally capable of assessment for legal proceedings. [citation needed]

    When used in advertising or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal reports are often called a testimonial, which are banned in some jurisdictions. [citation needed] The term is

  • LostGeneration
    LostGeneration

    I wouldn't even give them this much credit.

    They live in a make believe world. Everyone they come across treats them like royalty. Why wouldn't they feel entitled after being brown - nosed year after year. Everything they want is paid for, no worries about money or health insurance or paying the rent.

    I'm sure they just rubber stamp 95% of the literature that comes across their desk, as long as enough of it says "obey" and "faithful slave" then its a-OK.

    People who aren't challenged in any way will continue to do whatever it is that they are doing. I'm sure 0% of "apostate complaints" are passed up to their desks, what incentive do they have to change a thing?

  • wasblind
    wasblind

    " The unflinching dualistic mind has no balance in its thought process. It is all one-sided and usually very inflexible....."_____franklyspeakin'

    Jehovah's Witnesses are " TIPPED SCALES " very unbalanced

    also known as " CRAZY " as hell

    .

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    Was,

    Black&White thinking when carried to the extreme as in listening to all those talks and WT studies will have its bad effect on coping skills.

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Black and white thinking (dualistic thinking) adds stress. This is a subject that interests me. How, exactly. I'm looking at the huffington post article.

    S

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    Sat,

    Click on the links they they have more info I just pasted partial. Type it in google and do a search lot of good stuff, I'm still going back to it every now and then to grasp it.

    That's why a lot of people get depresses and listen to the Governing Body who have mastered black&white thinking and are kings in that sense got to have a very bad effect on everyone they are in contact with, and Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to be the happiest people on the earth doesn't ring true in the slightessed sense of the word.

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Found something w google:

    'Dualistic thinking makes life more difficult as there is no room for compromise or negotiating alternatives. Dualistic thinking can be detrimental to relationships since it offers only two doors to choose from. The remaining doors are not visible as they are obscured by a narrow focus.'

    S

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Then, theres the wt casting grey and grey areas in a bad light. In reality, everything is grey, as far as absolutes go. The universe may be digital, but we are at an analogue level.

    S

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Some interesting thoughts from the east.

    'In the Tao te ching a way out of dualistic thinking is given. Dualistic thinking puts two different forces or concepts opposite one another and ascribes them an independent value. This is the source of conflict. Conflict between man and woman, left and right, old and young, black and white. Dualistic thinking creates rigidity. As soon as we take an active viewpoint, judge, we are mistaken, for what may help us today may very well work against us tomorrow. Creative thinking means accepting that nothing is separate. Everything is connected. What we perceive is the field of tension between two forces, itself remaining in the background (Ch'i). Instead of two forces we are dealing with three forces. Zen calls this 'mu', no-thing, not yes, not no, not this, not that.'

    So, NOT judging is a way to stay out of dualistic thinking. The wt and the ot are champions at judging everthing and eveybody. Biblegod and his mini me, biblegod the son are supposed to be the ultimate judges. Further....

    'Western dualistic thinking is by and large based on the logical and rational. Eastern thinking seems to find its source in the spatially oriented right brain-half.'

    Of course, thats not to say that making choices is wrong. Saying that would also be dualistic.

    S

  • frankiespeakin
    frankiespeakin

    Sat,

    I look at it as the black&white thinking compared to seeing the differing shades of gray how every finely you can divide it,, as the difference of or present digital code of 0&1s to the quantum computors in the future with superpositions without time.

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