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.
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.