 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Freudians have accustomed us to "rationalizing", i.e., the process of inventing what seem to ourselves rational grounds for a decision or opinion that is in fact quite irrational. But there is, especially in English-speaking countries, a converse process which may be called "irrationalising." A shrewd man will sum up, more or less subconsciously, the pros and cons of a question from a selfish point of view. (Unselfish considerations seldom weigh subconsciously except where one's children are concerned.) Having come to a sound egoistic decision by the help of the unconscious, a man proceeds to invent, or adopt from others, a set of high-sounding phrases showing how he is pursuing the public good at immense personal sacrifice.
Source: Sceptical Essays, 1928, chapter 1:
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/SE_1928.pdf