Why do we think that deep down we are good, and is this really so?
Miscellaneous / / April 18, 2021
Generally speaking, it is harmful to believe in a good and pure “true self”.
In the first season of The X-Files, Dana Scully joins her former FBI Academy instructor, Jack Willis, on a bank robbery signal. During the arrest, one of the criminals seriously wounds Willis. Scully shoots the robber back and he is killed.
Some time later, Willis wakes up in the hospital. But he changed, became angry. The soul of a robber entered his body, who now seeks to reunite with his beloved and take revenge on those who handed him over to the FBI.
As a graduate student, Nina Strominger - PhD in Psychology and Assistant Professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania - watched "Secret materials». Among all the episodes with monsters and aliens, it was the story of the transmigration of souls that attracted her (by the way, this was repeated in the series again when Fox Mulder and an operative of "Zone 51»).
Strominger became interested in this idea. After all, if the robber was able to leave his own body and end up in Willis, then he was not one with his physical shell. There was some kind of separate entity capable of moving from one person to another.
Strominger noticed another interesting point. During the transmigration of souls, the heroes do not transfer everything to a new body, but only some of their features. And she wanted to know if there was any pattern in this selectivity.
This prompted Nina to experiment a little. With fellow Wharton School colleague Sean Nichols, the researcher askedThe essential moral self people have a simple question: "If you had to move to another body, which of the key features of your personality would you take with you?"
There was something in common in the answers. People have always said that in addition to personal memories and preferences, they would transfer traits associated with morality, conscience. Some good highly moral part of your personality. It was she who was associated with all the respondents with their own “I”.
But Strominger's study is just one of many. All these works unequivocally prove that people have a stable idea of some deep "true self". Moreover, this "true self" is necessarily goodValue judgments and the true self.
Does the "true self" really exist?
This is an interesting question. From the point of view of the science of the inner conscientious "I" almost certainly does not exist. Everything that is known from neurobiology and psychology does not support the theory of some kind of separate good entity hidden somewhere in the depths of the soul.
Most likely, the "true self" is just an illusion. Just a widespread habit of seeing oneself as a kind, highly moral soul.
But it doesn't matter at all. “Functionally, in a sense, it doesn't matter, because the idea of 'true self' affects our behavior and view of the world in the same way. as if this 'true self' really existed, "says Rebecca Schlegel, a social psychologist at the University of Texas A&M. M.
How the "true self" affects the perception of the world
Recommendations are heard from all sides: “Be yourself! " It is this advice that is perceived as decisive in life, love, career. If you are yourself, that is, you act in accordance with who you are at heart, then you will achieve success and happiness.
But what do we mean by being yourself? Scientists have received a completely unambiguous answer to this.
In different experiments, they asked volunteers to evaluate the personality changes that people experienced after traumatic brain injury, taking psychoactive drugs, imaginary body exchange. The estimates were similar. If a person has changed, but at the same time retained moral qualities - kindness, compassion, honesty, the participants said that he “remained himself”. If these qualities suffered, it sounded: "He became a different person."
An indicative experimentNeurodegeneration and Identity, in which volunteers were asked to read about two patients with dementia. The first, with severe memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease, was considered by the participants to have retained their own identity. In contrast to the second, who had everything in order with his memory and recollections, but his "moral abilities" due to the frontotemporal dementia decreased significantly. He, according to the respondents, has ceased to be himself.
In addition, the studyPreferences for Enhancement Pharmaceuticals: The Reluctance to Enhance Fundamental Traits In 2008, scientists discovered that people are reluctant to take medications that can affect morale: kindness, compassion. And they are much less worried about drugs that sometimes reduce alertness or impair memory.
Summary: “being yourself” in the mass consciousness means behaving in accordance with moral principles. Retreating from them is perceived as a loss of oneself.
Curiously, this concept of a morally good “true self” is universal. Studies with the participation of volunteers from Colombia, Singapore, Russia gave similar results, although the cultures of these countries have very different ideas about human nature. “Hindu Hindus and Buddhists from Tibet believe that the moral aspects of a person play a key role in their self-identification, although the latter generally deny the existence of such a thing as a person, "- saysThere is no such thing as the true self, but it’s still a useful psychological concept psychologist Christian Jarrett in the British Psychological Society's Research Digest.
Why do we feel like everyone is good at heart?
We usually think of ourselves better than others - this is one of the common cognitive biases. But when it comes to the "true self", we believe that other people also have a high moral character. This bias is demonstrated byConsistent Belief in a Good True Self in Misanthropes and Three Interdependent Cultures even misanthropes, that is, those who initially treat people badly.
Perhaps this is a manifestation of our sociality as a species. Thinking that there are no villains around is good for a sense of well-being, helps us to cooperate and trust each other.
Another explanation may be that people generally tend toWhy do people believe in a “true self”? The role of essentialist reasoning about personal identity and the self. focus on positive features. This is called "psychological essentialism"WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THE “TRUE SELF”?.
For example, when asked to describe a table, we say that it has four legs for stability and a surface to eat or work on. That is, we list the features of a "good" table. It would never occur to anyone to describe a broken, "bad" model.
Our idea of the "true self", the desire to adjust it to positive characteristics may be the result of the same essentialist thinking.
Why, then, are so many hostile to other people
Indeed, this raises a question. If we think so well of ourselves and others, why are there so many disgusting arguments, abuse and insults? Doesn't this contradict the mass belief in a good "true self"?
Yale University experimental philosopher Josh Knobe has a possible explanation: while we all believe in moral good inner self of everyone, our definition of morality varies according to beliefs and inner values.
In one experimentValue judgments and the true self Knobe and his colleagues asked people to describe their relationship to a fictional person named Mark. He was allegedly a Christian and at the same time experienced attraction to men. Opinions were divided. Conservative participants in the experiment confidently stated that Mark's "true self" lies in faith, and for him to succumb to feelings would be a departure from himself. The liberals, on the other hand, reported that the characteristics of Mark's sexuality are his "true self." From the point of view of the latter, abandoning oneself and one's impulses for the sake of some abstract faith - that would be a betrayal of the real essence of Mark.
The rest is simple. Whichever path the conventional Mark takes, there will always be people who will consider this choice an outrage against the true essence of the hero. And this outrage causes irritation and aggression.
Why is it harmful to believe that you are a good person at heart?
The answer is simple: it is discouraging. If the morality of the inner self is taken for granted and not deserved, there is a temptation to start making excuses for doing bad things.
On the other hand, immoral acts threaten our sense of identity. And this is a lot of stress. Therefore, some people simply deny their immoral behavior, shifting responsibility for him on third-party factors: "I was forced", "I was provoked", "I'm not like this - life is like that." Others seek to atone for their guilt with quick acts of kindness, such as donations. And again they become good in their own eyes.
Such decisions really quickly bring a person back in line with his ideas about his "true self". But they are not encouraged to ethical lifestyle in general.
How to benefit from the illusory "true self"
Yes, there is no “true self,” and deep down, people are not necessarily good. But this illusion has an important function.
The idea of your own "true self" can serve as a guide. A deep inner standard motivating to live according to conscience.
Even if the circumstances are not ideal and make you stumble, you know that there is something good inside you - and you are looking for opportunities to express it. This approach gives meaning to actions and helps build lifethat you are satisfied and proud of.
Read also🧐
- 10 non-obvious facts about human nature
- "We are a verb, not a noun": why it is worth giving up self-esteem in favor of self-compassion
- What is the danger of inadequate self-esteem and how to recognize it
- REVIEW: "Refuse to Choose" by Barbara Sher - a book about the journey to the true self
Kozlovsky-boomerang and harmless radiation. Why watching "Chernobyl" is interesting at first, but in the end - unbearable
15 Successful Habits That Are Killing Your Career They are outdated - get rid of them