Comment by tristor
1 month ago
I really really really wish that this is true, unfortunately it very often isn't. The Just World Fallacy is something I wish were not a fallacy.
1 month ago
I really really really wish that this is true, unfortunately it very often isn't. The Just World Fallacy is something I wish were not a fallacy.
Save the nonsense characterizations and dismissals. What actual evidence do you have? In my experience, that's how things work - not 100% but it's a powerful effect.
Evidence of what? That Lidden is autistic? None, other than the contents of the article and my own knowledge of those traits (that I myself have). That the Just World Fallacy is strong and we all get kicked in the pants because of our better expectations? My evidence is a good 40-50% of my entire life's story, where I have been punished repeatedly for doing the right thing.
To be clear, I am not being dismissive of your comment. I wish very deeply that it were true, and that I am wrong. Unfortunately I don't believe that to be the case.
It's dismissive to assign my argument to a Internet argument (your fallacy) rather than address its merits. I'm not wasting time on defending my argument against your fabrications about it; I stand by what I actually say. And wanting to be true and dismissing it is still dismissing it.
You don't know the outcome of the path not taken - lying, for example, also fails, much worse and much more often, and it fails in destroying your self-respect even when it 'succeeds' in some other narrow fashion.
Maybe you would have failed anyway. We all fail plenty. Being honest isn't usually sufficient - you need other skills and resources too. The skills and resources for being honest, IME, differ from those of liars - they take experience and failure to master, like any other sophisticated skils (including lying). Why not spend time mastering them? I promise it pays off far better - even when you fail spectacularly, you retain your self-respect, and you spend a lot less time doubting what you should do (though you still need to figure out how to do it effectively).
Whether the world - your world - is just or not is mainly up to you. You can't always succeed - liars don't get everything they want either - but you can have a big influence, on yourself and others. The world is what you make it.
2 replies →
Well, he was fired, so there goes any hope of his employer valuing his honesty.
See my original comment ...