The Scout Mindset (’s new book) sharply distills many key ideas from the rationalist world, but the framing is unusual and (I think) better! It presents motivated reasoning as rooted in important emotional functions which truth-seeking advocates must address/provide.
Conversation
Writing about rationality often imagines that if only we could just *explain* people’s biases to them and show them some Bayesian reasoning, they’d start thinking clearly.
But JG sees that motivated reasoning provides comfort, belonging, &c; alternatives must handle these needs.
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Of the functions discussed, I found “persuasion" the most surprising. Do you have to be confident to be compelling to others? Yes… but it’s enough to be *socially* confident; you don’t also have to be epistemically confident.
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One function I’d like to see more writing/exploring about is “morale” (believing things to motivate ourselves). This can be brittle and short-sighted, and a truth-seeking mindset will likely produce better results… but can it also be made to provide strong morale?
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JG suggests that a clear-sighted understanding of one’s odds can create a liberating sense of freedom, which I think is right… but it’s not *quite* the same thing as morale/motivation! Could it be?
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I wonder if Kahneman's distinction between the experiencing self and the remembering self might be useful here.
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It seems to me that one's beliefs are broadly more about the remembering self—when you sit back and reflect, what do you think is true?
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And morale/motivation is more about the details attended to by the experiencing self.
Often when people say "believe in yourself", I think they're not so much saying "delude yourself" but rather "continually remind yourself of these accurate and self-affirming things".
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Hm, I dunno! My beliefs also guide my intuitive expectations moment-to-moment, my reactions to set-backs, etc. But I like the experiencing/remembering distinction here. I find that when I optimize for the remembering self and avoid delusion, experiencing-morale is often low.