Motivated Reasoning Repeat

I posted this blog in November 2016.  I thought it might be time to revisit it.  I have
never seen people so entrenched in their political position as they are now.  Not
only do they believe strongly in their position, they get angry if anyone disagrees
with them.  I broach the subject of Motivated Reasoning with friends, and they
get angry at me even suggestings our minds are already made up before we
see the information.

Motivated Reasoning  November 2, 2016

Most of us have tried to explain our rationale for political or religious beliefs to
others and have experienced frustration when our thoughtful logic was
rejected.  How could anyone with half-a-brain not agree with our position?

Have you wondered when an important vote occurs on the Supreme Court,
we know the results before the decision is announced;  four to four (while
there was a vacancy on the court). All eight justices have Ivy League law
degrees, have impressive careers in lower courts and have been vetted
by Congress.  Each justice has a well thought out reason for his/her
position, but the position on the issue seems to come before the analysis.
Are half of the justices smarter than the other half?  What is going on?

After the presidential debates, I switched between Fox News and

CNN News.  I have doubts they watched the same debates.

I know you understand what is going on as well as I do. We develop
deep-seated beliefs and values and then filter information so that it either
fits our beliefs/values or we question the validity of the information.  I
recently heard a term that describes this - Motivated Reasoning.

My question is how can we put aside our beliefs/values to listen critically
to new information - without feeling our gut twist?

For more information, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning. 
t’s not an easy read.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com