After reading the comments I noticed that I had at least two distinct mental processes that I’d been labeling “rationalization”.
Process 1:
Say I’m late for a meeting, I have noticed that in thinking about saying “Sorry, I’m late” I immediately want to add an explanation for why this isn’t my fault.
Process 2:
Someone presents an argument for a conclusion I disagree with, I immediately start looking for flaws in it/reasons to dismiss it. As I observed here, this is necessarily even a fallacy.
After reading the comments I noticed that I had at least two distinct mental processes that I’d been labeling “rationalization”.
Process 1: Say I’m late for a meeting, I have noticed that in thinking about saying “Sorry, I’m late” I immediately want to add an explanation for why this isn’t my fault.
Process 2: Someone presents an argument for a conclusion I disagree with, I immediately start looking for flaws in it/reasons to dismiss it. As I observed here, this is necessarily even a fallacy.