Stephen Paul Weberposted, “If someone refuses to even attempt to explain themselves, how can they be right?” @ 2014-34 17:22 UTC
One Response
Aunt Chad
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Easy one! Being right has nothing to do with wanting to explain. Who said that people need to explain themselves? Oh, I know . . . that would be authority figures ( e.g. parents, for a start, then teachers, and other members of the community.) It also has to do with culture, training, the way we have been raised, and so on. It has to do with expectations. i.e. People expect others to be able to explain their behavior. . . And what if one chooses not to explain? The consequences could be dire . . . punishment or being sent somewhere so that someone else can attempt to explain your actions. . .. Also, people seem to have a built in curiosity about the reasons why others do or say what they do.
Then there is that self-image thing. What will people think of me if I don’t explain? Lots of pressure there. But people who are comfortable with who they are and what they do may not feel the need to bow to such things as having to explain. Sometimes people will absolutely refuse to explain themselves for any number of other reasons. Perhaps they do not have time to answer the question. Perhaps they are covering for someone else. Perhaps they feel “above” the questioner. Perhaps they feel that the person(s) asking the question would not understand the answer anyway so there is no point. Perhaps the person being questioned does not feel a need to be “right” all the time. Perhaps the person being questioned is feeling annoyed by the other person, especially if they are being asked this question often. Perhaps that person would just like to agree to disagree.
I have a feeling that the person who gets asked to explain himself/herself the most is probably God. Perhaps not answering means “I’ll tell you later” or like a parent might “You’ll understand when you grow up.”
I think that humans, as a whole, still have a lot of growing up to do.
One Response
Easy one! Being right has nothing to do with wanting to explain. Who said that people need to explain themselves? Oh, I know . . . that would be authority figures ( e.g. parents, for a start, then teachers, and other members of the community.) It also has to do with culture, training, the way we have been raised, and so on. It has to do with expectations. i.e. People expect others to be able to explain their behavior. . . And what if one chooses not to explain? The consequences could be dire . . . punishment or being sent somewhere so that someone else can attempt to explain your actions. . .. Also, people seem to have a built in curiosity about the reasons why others do or say what they do.
Then there is that self-image thing. What will people think of me if I don’t explain? Lots of pressure there. But people who are comfortable with who they are and what they do may not feel the need to bow to such things as having to explain. Sometimes people will absolutely refuse to explain themselves for any number of other reasons. Perhaps they do not have time to answer the question. Perhaps they are covering for someone else. Perhaps they feel “above” the questioner. Perhaps they feel that the person(s) asking the question would not understand the answer anyway so there is no point. Perhaps the person being questioned does not feel a need to be “right” all the time. Perhaps the person being questioned is feeling annoyed by the other person, especially if they are being asked this question often. Perhaps that person would just like to agree to disagree.
I have a feeling that the person who gets asked to explain himself/herself the most is probably God. Perhaps not answering means “I’ll tell you later” or like a parent might “You’ll understand when you grow up.”
I think that humans, as a whole, still have a lot of growing up to do.