Motivated vs Principled Reasoning

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Because one of the things that we get into when we start to look at any source, right? Let's say whether it's Sam Harris or Bret Weinstein or anybody else that is putting forward any type of claim is that we have to be able to determine whether or not their reasoning is motivated or principled.

[00:00:19]Right? And by motivated reasoning I mean we have a reason to want to believe this. And so we are going to find reasons like that writer on the elephant, right? We're going to find reasons to to make it true or to make to reassure us that we're on the right path. Principled reasons is much more disciplined is much more difficult, too.

[00:00:39]But it's much more disciplined to make sure that we're saying, "Okay, I'm I've checked all the boxes and made sure that I am not doing this just because it's something that I want to be true." And especially if it turns out that what you wanted to be true is not.

[00:00:53]>> Yeah. Yeah, the you know, the motivated reasoning is both of the attorneys in the courtroom. It's the the people in the debate who are trying to prove their case. You know, it's I'm presenting to you what supports, you know, it's confirmation bias. It's fundamental attribution error to some extent, you know. Not necessarily those things in in great depth, but it's it's presenting things in a way that, you know, confirming what you believe and wanting the person that you're presenting it to to believe what you believe.