You could become extremely guilty as you realize how many “low motives” you yourself possess
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You could become less willing to oppose bad behavior because you find it easier to empathize with
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You could become trapped in “low motives” or dysfunctional mindsets yourself, as a result of spending too much attention on modeling them in others
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I think these potential downsides are actually real and people who fear them have a point. I’d love to hear the case for these fears being unrealistic or surmountable.
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
the concern about "too much empathy" / "not enough self-righteousness" makes sense if that impulse is something you rely on. a lot of the other costs seem already baked in; you're paying the cost whether you consciously understand the motivation or not
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Replying to @tweetsbenedict @s_r_constantin
eg, - shouldn't you suspect that you're already acting out of those low motives if you aren't conscious of them? - your "elephant" is highly evolved to sniff out base motives in other people and react against them, isn't it better to be aware that that's what it's doing?
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Replying to @tweetsbenedict
Some people are actually ignorant of some things about “base motives”, and really have no suspicion that they or their friends might be subject to them. Aren’t they free of such cynical/misanthropic/guilty feelings?
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
perhaps, especially those not suspicious towards others! I think people who are unconscious of those motives in themselves often end up acting pretty selfishly i feel like the unsuspicious nature can be trained/chosen tho, doesn't feel like it has to be pure state of innocence
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Replying to @tweetsbenedict
Are you saying you can learn about “low motives”, not repress that knowledge, and still come out relatively unsuspicious?
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
I think so! you can learn to "assume the best." in the best case you can kind of subconsciously decide whether it's a high-risk or low-risk situation and slot in the narrative that best suits the situation for your conscious mind.
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How is “assuming the best” different from repressing knowledge or make-believe?
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
some povs: - it's choosing how to act in a limited information state - sometimes BOTH things are true, the person is acting out of bad motives AND they are forced to by circumstance, and you choose to focus on whatever is most helpful. (yes, has some similarity to make-believe)
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