Worse, there’s a part of me that feels that fear is keeping me safe.
“feels that” is a phrase that always raises a red flag for me. I wouldn’t take up the matter every time I hear it said, but as the context is inviting comment, I will.
Every statement of the form “I feel that...” is false, because what follows these words is never a feeling, but an assertion, a belief. There may be feelings around that belief, but the thing itself is a belief, not a feeling. The belief here is “fear is keeping me safe”.
As long as it’s treated as a feeling, it cannot be questioned—your feelings are simply whatever they are, right? But recognising that it is a belief immediately opens the door to a flood of obvious questions.
Is it true? Why do I believe that? When did I start believing it? What experience gave rise to it? Was it justified then; is it still justified now? How shall I tell? What do I do, or not do, on account of it, and does it work? For it is written (by Eliezer somewhere, although I couldn’t find the exact quote), “the most important question that anyone can ask themselves is this: why do I believe what I believe?”
Every statement of the form “I feel that...” is false, because what follows these words is never a feeling, but an assertion, a belief. There may be feelings around that belief, but the thing itself is a belief, not a feeling. The belief here is “fear is keeping me safe”.
You’re forgetting about aliefs. They fall on an intermediate level between pure emotions and propositional beliefs. And when someone says ‘I feel that X’, they probably mean ‘I alieve X’ and that’s not something easily modified by reasoning.
Is it true? Why do I believe that? When did I start believing it? What experience gave rise to it? Was it justified then; is it still justified now? How shall I tell? What do I do, or not do, on account of it, and does it work? For it is written (by Eliezer somewhere, although I couldn’t find the exact quote), “the most important question that anyone can ask themselves is this: why do I believe what I believe?”
Analyzing mental processes like that can be useful but doing it in a productive manner is a non-trivial skill. Reading a self-help book about cognitive-behavioral therapy might be a good way to learn productive introspection.
“feels that” is a phrase that always raises a red flag for me. I wouldn’t take up the matter every time I hear it said, but as the context is inviting comment, I will.
Every statement of the form “I feel that...” is false, because what follows these words is never a feeling, but an assertion, a belief. There may be feelings around that belief, but the thing itself is a belief, not a feeling. The belief here is “fear is keeping me safe”.
As long as it’s treated as a feeling, it cannot be questioned—your feelings are simply whatever they are, right? But recognising that it is a belief immediately opens the door to a flood of obvious questions.
Is it true? Why do I believe that? When did I start believing it? What experience gave rise to it? Was it justified then; is it still justified now? How shall I tell? What do I do, or not do, on account of it, and does it work? For it is written (by Eliezer somewhere, although I couldn’t find the exact quote), “the most important question that anyone can ask themselves is this: why do I believe what I believe?”
You give a clue to the question “does it work?”:
The answer to this one is clearly “no”.
You’re forgetting about aliefs. They fall on an intermediate level between pure emotions and propositional beliefs. And when someone says ‘I feel that X’, they probably mean ‘I alieve X’ and that’s not something easily modified by reasoning.
Analyzing mental processes like that can be useful but doing it in a productive manner is a non-trivial skill. Reading a self-help book about cognitive-behavioral therapy might be a good way to learn productive introspection.
Yes. But a skill worth acquiring.