Why Is It So Hard For Most People To Admit That They Are Wrong?

Why Is It So Hard For Most People To Admit That They Are Wrong?

My best assumption is this: Because they identify with their arguments - ie. they treat their arguments as parts of themselves or extensions of themselves. So to admit they were wrong would be akin to losing an arm. Which nobody wants.

 

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Because they have impossibly large egos?

 

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Because they have no sense of humour what so ever. Its all personal.

 

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How could anything not be personal?

 

Just because I think your idea is stupid, doesn't mean I think you are stupid. Some people have so much of themselves invested in an idea (which most times isn't even theirs!) that they won't back down.
They don't separate themselves from the idea.

 

If only.

Ultimately, this cannot be done anyway. The self is yet another idea.

 

Exactly. You and I have had our disagreements, but we both know how to agree to disagree. I don't think I've ever gotten pissed and called you names, except for Dude. LOL.

 

LOL thanks for not calling me Dude!

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I'm actually surprised that I haven't yet. Give it time.

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:shrug: ok then

 

If you call me Dude I will have to come up with a name for you too... :bugeye
But I understand how it is easier to associate Orleander with a Dude LMAO :

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eh-heh

 

No :shrug: necessary.

Realizing the self is yet another idea is very powerful.

But I suppose one simply has to arrive at that, in one's own life. Just talking about it or understanding it merely intellectually won't do.

 

Why is it hard for people to admit they are wrong when they are wrong and a solid case is made for this?

(that seems clearer somehow to me)

There are a number of reasons. But one I want to point out is their investment in what they are DOING and the ROLE they think they have or want to have and not just in the idea itself.

If they are the great wise one coming to help and they are wrong, they are not helping and might not be the great wise one.

If they are the angry victim and they are not really a victim....
If they are the good person and .....
If they are the rational one and.....
If they are the gutsy realist and others can't face the truth.....

There are the ideas and then there is the chosen role.

And often people promote certain ideas to get revenge - even revenge that I might sympathize with. Rub it in the bad people's faces.

If they can't do this, it is frustrating. They suffered and the oppressors still cannot admit it. (and this issue is not limited to politics, but in science vs. religion contexts, philosophy discussions, etc. Anyone who thinks they represent something that is or was marginalized or was really right and was abused for being, new, different, not up with times and so on.)

People who just wanna chat about some ideas are pretty rare.
Agendas and roles lurk.
(He, he. I might even have these, too, so don't you dare disagree with me)

 

When I call someone dude, it's meant as a blanket term. It's not as if I'm calling you a dude.

 

Oh yes.

 

Ahh I cant belive I missed this thread......

We cannot admit we are wrong because we have been conditioned that way through the school systems. Its the same reason kids and even adults say they "understand" when in reality they dont understand.

It seems to be a conditioned responce.....this same conditioning is what causes people to lash out and claim owership to the truth.....which is why when you disagree with someone they tend to get offended.

Most religions tend to claim "ownership" of the truth as well. Which is why they are so defensive when their belief system is ridiculed or questioned.

To clarify what I mean by "conditioned responce" its like the old russian scientists dog who salivated every time a dinner bell was rung.

 

An opinion can never be wrong. People can argue and be wrong about a lot of things but one thing they can never be wrong with is their opinion.