Difference between revisions of "Perception-based thinking"

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(another nugget; problem)
(screencap of example)
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[[category:concepts]]
 
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[[Perception-based thinking]] is the belief that how people ''perceive'' reality is more important than ''reality itself'' -- that real power consists of being able to affect what people think reality is, rather than being to effect changes in the real world.
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[[File:Screenshot - 01212015 - 17-52-39 - perception is reality.png|thumb|525px|Liberals don't understand that perception is reality, so they're "losers". Note that ten people apparently agreed with this comment, although twenty-six agreed with the previous comment which basically opposed it. #irony]]
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[[Perception-based thinking]] is the belief that how people ''perceive'' reality is more important than ''reality itself'', or even ''is'' reality.
 
==Nugget==
 
==Nugget==
There is some truth to this in that:
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The reality behind this apparently absurd, ''[[issuepedia:Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984]]''-ish statement seems to be that vast power lies in the ability to affect what people think reality is, and that this is more important than the ability to effect changes in the real world (since if [[control of knowledge is control of action]] – and you can therefore get them to do ''for you'' whatever you want).
* It is often possible to make people do what you want, even when it is against their own interests, by [[control of knowledge is control of action|controlling what they believe]].
 
* It is also possible to exert a net influence on public opinion by careful [[issuepedia:interpretive framing|framing]] of an issue – presenting it in terms which favor the conclusion you prefer.
 
 
==Problem==
 
==Problem==
As a philosophy of governance, however, it runs into the problem that objective reality will proceed regardless of what the public ''believes'' it will do. If a policy reliably leads to poverty and economic instability, for example, it will do so regardless of whether the public can be convinced that they are wealthy or that the economy is doing well.
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As a philosophy of governance, however, it runs into the problem that objective reality will proceed regardless of what the public ''believes'' it will do. If a policy reliably leads to poverty and economic instability, for example, it will do so regardless of whether the public can be led to ''perceive'' that everything is okay.

Revision as of 23:11, 21 January 2015

Liberals don't understand that perception is reality, so they're "losers". Note that ten people apparently agreed with this comment, although twenty-six agreed with the previous comment which basically opposed it. #irony

Perception-based thinking is the belief that how people perceive reality is more important than reality itself, or even is reality.

Nugget

The reality behind this apparently absurd, 1984-ish statement seems to be that vast power lies in the ability to affect what people think reality is, and that this is more important than the ability to effect changes in the real world (since if control of knowledge is control of action – and you can therefore get them to do for you whatever you want).

Problem

As a philosophy of governance, however, it runs into the problem that objective reality will proceed regardless of what the public believes it will do. If a policy reliably leads to poverty and economic instability, for example, it will do so regardless of whether the public can be led to perceive that everything is okay.