Thank you Anders, that is a very interesting article.
Very clever of Kahan to measure 'curiosity'.
This Article Won't Change Your Mind - Great Read
by cofty 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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humbled
facts are important but it's our emotions that will sway us. —sparrowdown
- This is all can think of with the mindset we had to cult- ivate.
- This is all can think of with the mindset we had to cult- ivate.
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Whynot
As someone who knows cognitive dissonance too well, I really appreciate articles like these. I feel a bit embarassed about it too but at least I know I can better myself now.
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slimboyfat
While it is true that facts and logic don’t change people's mind, that’s not to say that nothing will change people’s mind.
Social proof and arguments from authority often persuade people to reevaluate their position.
So the most effective things to say to JWs may include: JW growth has slowed down dramatically in recent years and many are leaving the organisation after finding information online. Or, the royal commission in Australia found that JWs are very poor at protecting children. In fact they found over a thousand cases of abuse and not a single one was reported to the police.
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sparky1
"curiosity can lead to their 'spiritual demise.' - Anders Anderson
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cofty
facts and logic don’t change people's mind - SBF
many are leaving the organisation after finding information online - Also SBF
Muddled thinking there SBF.
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slimboyfat
No, this is the point. You’d think it’s the information that is making people leave but it’s not. It’s the fact that people see other people reading information and leaving that has the effect of making people leave. It’s the herd mentality.
If a critical mass of JWs become convinced that people are leaving in droves and the Watchtower game is up, then the dam will burst. I think we are near that, or possibly even in the middle of it right now.
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cofty
You are making generalisations. Some people will leave based on new information even if nobody else agrees. I was one such person and I have encountered many more on this forum.
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sparrowdown
The old saying about "you can lead a horse to water..." still stands.
Horses only drink when thirsty and people will only do meaningful reseach that causes change when thirsty for facts and knowledge. What is the catalyst and when that person becomes "ready to drink" is personal and individual.
Sorry to mix metaphors but when I started researching it was like breathing unpolluted oxygen for the first time in years when only a year earlier I didn't, why? Because I didn't want to. I wasn't ready.
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slimboyfat
So you agree with the article you posted or not? What was the point of the thread again?
We’d all like to think we are rational people and make decisions on the basis of facts, evidence and logic. But the best science on decision making says otherwise. We make decisions on the basis of 1) what other people are doing and 2) what authority figures say. And when we look back at the decisions we have made we make sense of them in terms of facts, evidence and logic.