Seems to me that many advices or points of view can be helpful when used in a certain way, and harmful when used in a different way. The idea “I am already infinitely bad” is helpful when it removes the need to protect one’s ego, but it can also make a person stop trying to improve.
The effect is similar with the idea of “heroic responsibility”; it can help you overcome some learned helplessness, or it can make you feel guilty for all the evils in the world you are not fixing right now. Also, it can be abused by other people as an excuse for their behavior (“what do you mean by saying I hurt you by doing this and that? take some heroic responsibility for your own well-being, and stop making excuses!”).
Less directly related: Knowing About Biases Can Hurt People (how good advice about avoiding biases can be used to actually defend them), plus there is a quote I can’t find now about how “doubting you math skills and checking your homework twice” can be helpful, but “doubting your math skills so much that you won’t even attempt to do your homework” is harmful.
Seems to me that many advices or points of view can be helpful when used in a certain way, and harmful when used in a different way. The idea “I am already infinitely bad” is helpful when it removes the need to protect one’s ego, but it can also make a person stop trying to improve.
The effect is similar with the idea of “heroic responsibility”; it can help you overcome some learned helplessness, or it can make you feel guilty for all the evils in the world you are not fixing right now. Also, it can be abused by other people as an excuse for their behavior (“what do you mean by saying I hurt you by doing this and that? take some heroic responsibility for your own well-being, and stop making excuses!”).
Less directly related: Knowing About Biases Can Hurt People (how good advice about avoiding biases can be used to actually defend them), plus there is a quote I can’t find now about how “doubting you math skills and checking your homework twice” can be helpful, but “doubting your math skills so much that you won’t even attempt to do your homework” is harmful.