“Fear of Truth” !
Why We Fear and Hate the Truth
“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” – Winston Churchill.
Jiddu Krishnamurti: Fear
A Wholly Different Way of Living:
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. – Winston Churchill.
We fear and hate many of truth’s disclosures because they’re often accompanied by narcissistic insults. What’s a narcissistic insult? It’s a bulletin from reality that, while capable of smartening us up, offends our ego. To avoid such insults, we cling to our illusions and limit our intelligence and inner freedom.
History records how truth has threatened our self-regard. People of the 16th Century ignored the new scientific findings and clung to their ego-gratifying illusion that the earth was the center of the universe. Three centuries later, Charles Darwin delivered a narcissistic insult when he considered the likelihood that man had descended from ancient apes, a prospect that horrified the proud architects of the Industrial Age. Four decades later, another profound narcissistic insult was leveled when Sigmund Freud contended, in The Interpretation of Dreams, that much of our mental and emotional life at any given moment is unconscious. Our ego, that self-centered me that pretends to know us intimately, was gravely insulted. George Bernard Shaw remarked soon afterwards: “All great truths begin as blasphemies.”
veritaphobic
“Fear of Truth”
1. Displaying hesitation or refusal to admit or recognize that something is true, or to accept the concept of truth itself. Usually born out of fear of offending someone or being held accountable to something constant.
2. Dismissal of the existence of absolutes.
3. Degradation of people who profess something as true or untrue.
4. Being willfully in denial. Gives rise to constant skepticism and doubt of everything.
Girlfriend: “Rob may physically and verbally abuse me, but I deserve it. And he may have cheated on me five times, but he said he’d never do it again. I know that he loves me…” Best Friend: “When are you going to wake up from this veritaphobia and dump him? You’ve got to realize that he’s an asshole!”
Philosopher: “Truth is relative. Reality is whatever you want to make it.” Person with common sense: “Stop being such a veritaphobe. Have a little conviction and stand up for something.”
Teacher: “Timmy didn’t really answer this question correctly, but who am I to judge what is or isn’t right. I can’t condemn his perspective of things. I might hurt his feelings.” Other Teacher: “Are you kidding me? 2+2 does not equal 5, no matter how the boy feels about it! You’re being veritaphobic.”
“Fear of Truth” read more:
Are you irate, irritable and irrational when presented with evidence that goes against your preconceived notions of how the world operates? Looking for a solution to your stress? Join us this week on The Eyeopener as we examine the theory of cognitive dissonance and how it stops people from confronting the uncomfortable truths about the way the world really works.
Confronting Cognitive Dissonance – The Eyeopener
Cognitive Dissonance Solutions:
Pingback: veritaphobic | The Truth As It Changes;