I think i exercise doublethink!

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Some of you might have heard of George Orwell's famous novel 1984. (It's the book where the phrase "Big Brother is watching" originates from) Well the Party members use this technique called doublethink, it's interesting, really, but hard to explain, so I'm quoting Wikipedia:

"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth."

Upon reading the book I kind of realized I might have exercised doublethink for a long time already without even realizing it... But I'm not sure. For example, I do of course know that my stuffed animals are not real, they're just plush toys. But when I talk to them and play with them, I genuinely believe them to be able to think, talk and love. I know they are my friends. Then when I talk to my sister about this, we both can fully acknowledge the fact that they are just toys, but also believe them to be real, at the same time. Is this weird? Now that I think about it, it sounds weirder when told in that way, but in practice, I think it's not that weird. We just love our plushies so damn much! But is it doublethink? And more to the topic, is it normal? By the way, I'm 18 years old and I'm turning 19 in a week.

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Based on 38 votes (23 yes)
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Comments ( 6 )
  • Heh?
    13 years ago

    So yes, everyone does it.

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  • Schythl
    13 years ago

    So yes, everyone does it.

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  • Not_Who_I_Say_I_Am
    13 years ago

    So yes, everyone does it.

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  • SassyFrassyLassie_old
    13 years ago

    Actually, everyone does it (although not everyone is aware of it) and you'll start noticing it more and more now that you are aware of it.

    A psychologist named Stanley Milgram did a study back in the 1950s on 40 working-class American men to explore obedience because it was just after the World Wars and they wanted to figure out why the German people would obey commands to kill and torture other human beings, even when it goes against their own personal morals. The 40 men were told by the scientists to administer a painful "shock" to a man (an actor-however the 40 men were not aware the man was an actor) whenever he got a question they were asking wrong. To summarize the results of the experiment: to everyone's surprise, the men obeyed; even when it caused them extreme stress to do so; and only 14 of the 40 men eventually refused to continue on, but only after "shocking" the victim to the point of passing out (or so they believed).

    Another example of people holding two conflicting morals is "speciesism" - which is a term coined by Australian, Peter Singer, that describes our unethical treatment of animals as something akin to racism towards other species. While most people are aware of the suffering animals endure while alive, being raised for our consumption, we are still able to continue supporting a food-system of torture to satisfy our taste-buds and love of meat, dairy, and eggs.

    So yes, everyone does it.

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  • pluto88
    13 years ago

    I think it's less of a question of doublethink and more of a question of whether or not you should be playing with plushies at 18.

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  • stealmysocks
    11 years ago

    So no, everyone does it.

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