- Definition: "The mental discomfort caused by holding incompatible beliefs."
- Insight: We eliminate dissonance through rationalisation.
The Ego Trick
by Julian Baggini
Published date: 2011
Category: Philosophy
Index Topics & Notes
- Insight: We notice what fits our self-image, and disregard descriptions that don't fit.
- Reference: Forer demonstrated the Effect in 1948 using a general personality description.
- Example: People that have dementia: are they the same person as before the disease? In some ways yes, in some no. It depends.
- Insight: Identity can have many different perspectives, and thus answers. It often depends on what matters.
- Reference: Thomas Hobbes' [British philosopher] example of the Ship of Theseus: if all of the rotting parts of a ship are replaced with new pieces, is it still the same ship? If someone took all the old rotting bits and put them back together, does this have a stronger claim to being the original ship?