Explanations are Often Problematic

Illusory Awareness

Genuine awareness (RH"L3) is a necessity for healthy functioning: see more here. It deals with the here and now, and with matters that touch on your self. Awareness calls for a sensitive or ethical response that is within your power: though you can choose to put yourself first.

When speaking about impersonal, external, societal or international matters or events that will occur in the future. it is impossible to be genuinely aware. To avoid the discomfort of feeling confused, ignorant or anxious, a form of awareness can develop that is labeled here "illusory". It is illusory precisely because there is minimal or even zero correspondence between what you take to be the case and how things are.

This illusory awareness is obtained through hearsay, media accounts, gossip, propaganda, authoritative figures and similar intermediaries between you and the situation. It is expressed as an opinion and even defended as "your" opinion, but seems to be driven primarily by group efforts to generate a consensus without the need for personalized thoughtfulness or any meaningful inquiry.

In many cases the explanations refer to people and organizations that the listener has never met and will never meet. However, alignment with the consensus provides a false comfort and confidence as we go about our lives. It is part of fitting in.

The biggest puzzle is what is going on in our own society. For any given news item, it can be difficult to assess what is overblown, overlooked or under-appreciated. What is noise and what is signal? How far can the usual analogies and metaphors be taken?

When statistical analyses of centrally collected information about some aspect of society are published, it is almost impossible to know the conditions of data collection, how the data was cleaned and manipulated, or the assumptions built into the analyses. So any awareness of the degree of unemployment in society or inflation levels is necessarily illusory.

Bottom-line: A person can only be genuinely aware of their own self and immediate environment.

Unsatisfactory Explanations

We appear to have a drive for plausible accounts that are satisfying, which only means that they relieve inner tensions and confusions in an acceptable way.

The typical satisfying (even if meaningless, improbable or ridiculous) explanation that is offered in the media or by a societal authority should not be characterized as deliberately biassed, deceptive or delusional. In many or even most cases, the individual offering a public explanation of an emerging situation feels a responsibility to satisfy readers or listeners. They have no specific bad intentions and are not mentally ill.

Bias, itself, is a constant operative in almost any assessment of situations. Expensive and time-consuming efforts are required to remove bias from accounts. While such effort is required in scientific research (and then with variable results), it is impossible to do more than limit the worst excesses in everyday life.

For more on making pronouncements and knowing what to say, see a framework with this focus.

However, there is such a thing as an «unsatisfactory explanation» and some varieties of those are listed below.

ClosedConspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories are Mode-1 implausible explanations which typically impute harmful events to hidden government activities or secret societies like the Deep State, the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the Bilderberg Group. These secretive bodies are imputed an agenda of global dominance using any means, no matter how nefarious.

ClosedDeception, Lies, Misinformation, Disinformation

Deception is a routine part of social life.

Lies are commonly part of official explanations, sometimes for legitimate security or privacy reasons, but often used when organisations or governments are concerned to cover up illegal, unethical or unpopular activities.

Misinformation refers to inaccurate communications that are spread unintentionally either due to mistakes, misunderstanding or ignorance.

Disinformation refers to a deliberate attempt to mislead the general public with false information.

ClosedPropaganda

Propaganda refers to a flow of communications that aim to influence beliefs and attitudes. It is biased, contains falsehoods, and uses extreme simplification and repetition to stir up emotions.

ClosedMoral Panic

Moral panics are a response to a widespread irrational awareness of a moral deviance threatening the safety and well-being of a society. For example in the USA in the 1980's, a belief developed that satanic cults were engaged in ritual abuse of babies with hundreds of thousands of infants affected. When this occurs, many situations get explained by appeal to that belief. Sensational media coverage affects social policy and legislation leading to harm to innocent individuals, families or groups. While a simple investigation reveals the falsity of claims, such findings have no effect during the panic.

ClosedMass Hysteria & Mass Psychosis

Mass hysteria is a form of psychological contagion, usually dominated by physical symptoms like fainting, crying or nausea, rather than false ideas or delusions. It develops in tightly-knit communities like schools or workplaces with no obvious cause. However, a triggering stress, fear or threat can usually be discerned.

Mass psychosis is a situation where a large portion of the population develops delusional beliefs and disorganized thinking. Examples include the witch hunts of the middle ages and millenarian phenomena like the crusades and doomsday cults.

Originally posted: 30-Oct-2024.