#Cognitive Dissonance

Why Truth Often Refuses to Feel Comfortable

Shifting from the individual to the group, comfort is also social: we want belonging, and shared narratives can be emotionally safer than contested truths. History repeatedly shows how communities can normalize convenient falsehoods when the alternative threatens cohesion or power. Plato’s *Republic* (c. 375 BC) even discusses the idea of a “noble lie,” illustrating how societies sometimes prefer stability over strict truth. In everyday life, this appears in workplaces where nobody voices obvious problems or in families where certain topics are treated as taboo. The comfort of silence can be mistaken for harmony, while the discomfort of honesty can be mislabeled as disloyalty. [...]

Faith and Self-Deception: When Certainty Defies Evidence

Criss Jami’s statement unveils the paradox at the heart of faith: belief that persists in the face of self-doubt. Rather than framing faith as mere conviction or optimism, Jami spotlights the unsettling moment when belief clashes with personal knowledge of being wrong. This tension complicates traditional notions of faith, suggesting it can transform from virtuous trust into stubborn self-deception. [...]

The Test of a First-Rate Intelligence - F. Scott Fitzgerald

This quote highlights the ability to consider conflicting perspectives without immediately rejecting one. It suggests that intelligence involves thinking critically and tolerating ambiguity. [...]

The Danger of Insistence on One's Own Views - Adolfo Bioy Casares

The world is nuanced, full of contrasting perspectives and ideas. By clinging stubbornly to one viewpoint, an individual may find themselves out of sync with the ever-changing and multifaceted nature of the world. [...]