I think I generally agree with your points, but I’m wondering if you think that ego syntonic and ego dystonic are binary categories, or a continuum.
The later seems obviously true to me. There are some desires I have that are so ego-dystonic that I would never, ever want to act on them, like my desire to punch someone who outbid me on eBay. But there are many other desires I have that are only ego dystonic because they interfere with some even more important desire I have. For instance, my desire to read TV Tropes might be ego dystonic when I need to prepare for a job interview, but then magically become ego syntonic once I’ve finished the interview and need to unwind.
In fact, I think a great many of the ego-dystonic things that you describe as interfering with our real goals would stop being ego dystonic if we achieved those goals more frequently.
I agree with you about terminology. Ego syntonic vs. ego dystonic desires is probably a better way to put it.
I think I generally agree with your points, but I’m wondering if you think that ego syntonic and ego dystonic are binary categories, or a continuum.
The later seems obviously true to me. There are some desires I have that are so ego-dystonic that I would never, ever want to act on them, like my desire to punch someone who outbid me on eBay. But there are many other desires I have that are only ego dystonic because they interfere with some even more important desire I have. For instance, my desire to read TV Tropes might be ego dystonic when I need to prepare for a job interview, but then magically become ego syntonic once I’ve finished the interview and need to unwind.
In fact, I think a great many of the ego-dystonic things that you describe as interfering with our real goals would stop being ego dystonic if we achieved those goals more frequently.