The omnipotent self, a study in self-deception and self-cureBousfield, Paul
Science
The omnipotent self, a study in self-deception and self-cure
Bousfield, Paul
Mental healing; Psychoanalysis
One of the qualities which we highly cultured animals possess is that
of reason. We have discovered that logic is one of the essential
factors of law and order, and that the highest form of intellect
possesses reason in a large measure. Among our gods, the god of reason
and logic stands high, and our very Narcissism will not permit us to
do and accept things which are contrary to logical reasoning. For that
means in the first place, that they are contrary to what we have been
taught to revere highly as a good quality, and yet more still it means
that they are contrary to the magic of WORDS, for logic means words;
logic is words which follow one another in irrefutable sequence. And
we have already learnt that _the infant has early associated words and
sounds with magic, since by the persistent use of these he has got what
he wanted_. So that doubly are logic and reason revered.
Now, the unhappy thing about life is that we are continually wishing
to do things or feel things or believe things which do not follow
logically upon other things which we have also had to feel or think or
believe at some time. Some of our wishes are logically incompatible
with other of our wishes. More over, we very often do not wish to
believe or think things which do follow logically on actual facts which
have gone before. How are we then, as reasonable people, to deal with
the situation? By rationalization, by finding a reason which suits our
purpose; and this can only be done, as a rule, by leaving out some
important factor, by ignoring some truth, and by arguing from false
premises. We do not do this consciously, that would be unworthy. Our
unconscious censor manages to delete from consciousness the unpleasant
truth, as we have already pointed out, and brings forth an array of
facts which appear irrefutable, and he succeeds in giving us most
plausible reasons so that we may believe that which is most convenient
to us.
Let us consider for a moment such a subject as religion. The Roman
Catholic will adduce evidences of various kinds to show that his is
the only right and proper form of religion to be accepted by any
intellectual person. The Baptist will likewise do the same, and will
probably hold that Papal institutions, in many instances, spring not
from Heaven but from Hell. If you discuss it with either of them, you
may be flooded with reasons, logical evidences of the correctness of
their views. Obviously, they cannot both be right in so exclusive a
manner, and a very little insight will show that the reasons they
adduce have really very little to do with their beliefs, although they
think they have. Reverence for their parents, early environment, and
other factors of this kind, have really induced their present beliefs,
but these would not appear to them as logical reasons and so they
select others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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