{"id":139,"date":"2018-08-14T17:13:34","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T22:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/?page_id=139"},"modified":"2020-10-01T07:09:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T12:09:51","slug":"article-11","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/article-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Article 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

BELIEF: AN OWNER\u2019S MANUAL<\/strong>
ARTICLE 11 <\/strong>
A CLOSER LOOK AT AMBIGUITY<\/strong>
PART 4:<\/strong>
CATALYTIC NARRATIVES<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b><\/b><\/b><\/b>The most ambiguous beliefs of all are those I call catalytic narratives.\u00a0 A catalytic narrative is simply a belief that makes no falsifiable claims but appears, to those who embrace it, to be a profound truth. Like a catalyst, it transforms what it encounters while remaining unchanged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Catalytic narratives provide lenses through which we view reality. When we\u2019re under their sway, they color our view of the phenomena we take them to describe, in many cases, by leading us to experience a class of events as analogous to the events they portray. While they bias our experience and judgment, they lead us to believe that what we see under their influence is unquestionable. All too often, they also lead us to believe that those who embrace them are morally and intellectually superior to unbelievers.<\/p>\n

AWARENESS OF OUR CATALYTIC NARRATIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those who\u2019re under the spell of catalytic narratives may be able to express them clearly and distinctly, as political and religious \u201ctrue believers\u201d often can (Hoffer, 1951). Other believers may have only a vague sense of the narratives that guide them. That vagueness may become evident to you during discussions with family members, friends, or colleagues about why they think or act as they do or when struggling to characterize your own beliefs. Finally, those under the influence of catalytic narratives may be unaware of that influence.<\/p>\n

FORMS OF CATALYTIC NARRATIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some catalytic narratives masquerade as straightforward descriptions of reality such as, \u201cI am unworthy of love,\u201d \u201cIslam is a religion of peace,\u201d or \u201cThose who support Politician X are Nazis, racists, or both.\u201d Some, like Marxist political theory, melanin theory, and Freud\u2019s theories of personality and psychopathology, masquerade as science. Still others are packaged in metaphors we employ when attempting to understand or communicate about an issue or in the motifs that, upon reflection, appear to shape our private thoughts. (Imagine how different one\u2019s relationships are likely to be if the metaphor that colors one\u2019s experience of love is, \u201cLove is collaborative work of art\u201d rather than \u201cLove is an illusion\u201d or \u201cLove is a power struggle\u201d) (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980).<\/p>\n

SOURCES OF INSPIRATION\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Catalytic narratives can be inspired and shaped by anything that touches us \u2013 significant personal experiences, experiences or views of those with whom we identify, experiences or views of those we admire, news reports, religious texts, novels, short stories, plays, movies, television programs, advertisements, internet postings, musicals, songs, comedy routines, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some catalytic narratives may be inspired by the issues on which communications and experiences that provoke our beliefs appear to focus. Others are inspired by portrayals of persons, objects, and ideas that, lurking in the background of those communications and experiences, we accept uncritically. But whatever may inspire our catalytic narratives, we must state them as clearly as possible if we wish to transform them from sovereigns to servants.<\/p>\n

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF CATALYTIC NARRATIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Catalytic narratives share five vital characteristics.<\/p>\n

First, they are typically inspired by a small amounts of information such as an incident, a compelling turn of phrase, an image, or a story.<\/p>\n

Those stimuli provide little real justification for the narratives they inspire. However, we find those narratives compelling because they satisfy our need to believe we\u2019re knowledgeable and powerful.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the more ambiguous our narratives, the more phenomena they explain (c.f., \u201cThe Trouble with Truth\u201d).\u00a0 We also experience the narratives we\u2019re inspired to create as compelling because we find it easy to believe \u2013 falsely \u2013 that our experience is broadly representative of reality (Tversky & Kahneman, 1971). Furthermore, we find catalytic narratives compelling because the weak relationships between the stimuli that inspire those narratives and the narratives they inspire permit us to create narratives that satisfy our needs. And the ambiguity of the narratives themselves gives us further freedom to interpret them in ways we find satisfying.<\/p>\n

Second, such narratives rarely make falsifiable predictions.<\/p>\n

Thus, those who embrace catalytic narratives that liken illegal immigrants to Hebrews in the biblical Book of Exodus<\/em> are likely to insist that their preferred narrative obliges citizens to treat illegals kindly and generously. However, they\u2019re unlikely to claim that their adopted narrative allows them to make specific predictions about the consequences of the policies they endorse.<\/p>\n

If catalytic narratives make explicit predictions, they incorporate second-order precepts that encourage failures to be \u201cexplained away\u201d while inspiring believers to be uncritical of even specious explanations. Thus, believers\u2019 confidence in such narratives is unaffected by data and experience that should, from an outsider\u2019s point of view, raise questions about their beliefs.<\/p>\n

Since that proclivity is easy to see in others but difficult to see in ourselves, I encourage those who wish to examine this phenomenon more closely to explore When Prophesy Fails<\/em>, a detailed account of how The Seekers, an apocalyptic cult that expected the world to end, responded when the predicted apocalypse failed to occur (Festinger, Riecken, & Schacter, 1956) or The Three Christs of Ypsilanti<\/em>, a novel-length description of an experiment at the Ypsilanti (Michigan) State Hospital in which three patients who believed themselves to be Jesus Christ were placed on the same ward and encouraged to interact (Rokeach, 1964).<\/p>\n

Third, catalytic narratives seldom specify the lessons believers should derive from them. As such, they are likely to embroil believers in disputes over the correct way to interpret them and who has the right to decide. Thus, there are eight sects of Islam, over a dozen schools of Marxist thought, about the same number of contemporary schools of psychoanalysis, and over fifty Christian denominations. And, at the time this document is being written, American Jews are engaged in a struggle over whether their prayers and ethics are best guided by progressive interpretations of social justice or more ancient aspects of their heritage (Neumann, 2018).<\/p>\n

Fourth, catalytic narratives bear no responsibility for believers\u2019 expectations regarding relationships between phenomena or the circumstances in which those relationships might occur. After all, the sources of catalytic narratives\u2019 inspiration and the narratives those sources inspire are open to diverse \u2013 and characteristically nebulous \u2013 interpretations.<\/p>\n

Fifth, catalytic narratives are, in practice, immune to criticism. Since they neither make falsifiable predictions nor bear responsibility for the lessons believers derive from them, the credence believers grant them is unaffected by the effectiveness of the guidance they inspire. In fact, believers for whom their guidance doesn\u2019t \u201cwork\u201d are likely to blame themselves. On the other hand, believers are likely to view helpful guidance they derive from such narratives as evidence that their narratives are “right.”<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/b>In sum, catalytic narratives are remarkably ambiguous. Their power to explain events after they occur is limited only by the vagueness of their language and the passion, imagination and rhetorical skill of their believers. And their rare predictive failures are easily discounted.<\/p>\n

A PARADIGMATIC CATALYTIC NARRATIVE IN ACTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve seen, catalytic narratives don\u2019t convey meaningful information about the way things are or how to get things done. Instead, they shape believers\u2019 vision and judgment in ways that make them experience the world their narratives portray. Although believers view catalytic narratives as informative<\/em>, they\u2019re not. They\u2019re transformative<\/em>. They don\u2019t reveal reality; they shape perception and understanding. And in all too many cases, they do little more than create compelling illusions.<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example. It\u2019s something that lots of people were passionate about, but, since it happened over a decade ago (i.e., in 2006), I hope we can examine it calmly. I\u2019m talking about the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case. As you may remember, a black stripper and lap dancer falsely accused three members of the Duke Lacrosse Team of rape. All were white and came from affluent families.<\/p>\n

A specific narrative shaped the media\u2019s response to those accusations. Roughly, it was, \u201cThis is just another example of what\u2019s happened ever since slavery. Powerful, privileged white men raped a powerless, innocent black woman.\u201d Both the national and local press embraced that narrative and spun their stories to portray the lacrosse players as guilty and their defense attorneys as liars.<\/p>\n

But there wasn\u2019t a shred of evidence to support the accuser\u2019s story. She changed her story repeatedly. She had told similar lies in the past. And she turned out to have been lying about the rape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s Attorney General ultimately declared the lacrosse players innocent and described them as victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.” The North Carolina State Bar ultimately disbarred the prosecutor who\u2019d brought the case for “dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation.”<\/p>\n

When the facts became irrefutable, Evan Thomas of Newsweek Magazine, which had provided extensive and passionate coverage of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case based on the narrative just described, said, “It was about race . . . The narrative was properly about race, sex and class. . . We went a beat too fast in assuming that a rape took place. . . We just got the facts wrong.\u00a0 The narrative was right, but the facts were wrong.”<\/p>\n

There were no facts to justify any sort of narrative, but, according to Evan Thomas, \u201cthe narrative was right\u201d anyway. Evan Thomas\u2019 catalytic narrative did what such narratives do. Under the guise of informing<\/em> him about an issue, it transformed<\/em> him into someone who could see things no other way.<\/p>\n

The implications for us? To passively accept catalytic narratives is to put on blackout goggles, forget you\u2019ve put them on, and confidently declare that the world has gone dark.<\/p>\n

HOW TO TELL YOU VIEW A BELIEF AS A CATALYTIC NARRATIVE \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If, upon reflecting on one of your beliefs, you conclude that it\u2019s transforming you into someone who sees it as true while failing to provide you with real information, you see it as a catalytic narrative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How many beliefs have you thought of that way? If you\u2019re like most people, I suspect that your answer is, \u201cNone.\u201d In fact, if you\u2019re like most people, you rely on catalytic narratives for guidance, unaware of what they are or how they function.<\/p>\n

Even after Evan Thomas’ catalytic narrative demonstrably and publicly misguided him, he continued to view it as an unquestionable truth \u2013 not as a belief that, once accepted, rendered him incapable of seeing things any other way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this case and countless others, catalytic narratives lead those who accept them to rely on assertions that have nothing to say about reality as if those assertions were as informative and testable as imprecise or even precise beliefs. Catalytic narratives can lead us to rely on our beliefs to help us in ways they can\u2019t. And they can create the kind of unjustified certainty that leads to horrors.<\/p>\n

When examining our beliefs, it\u2019s useful to ask the question, \u201cIf my belief were wrong, how would I know?\u201d If you have no answer to that question, your belief is a catalytic narrative.<\/p>\n

EXERCISE 11<\/span>
DETERMINING WHETHER BELIEFS<\/span>
ARE APPROPRIATELY CLASSIFIED AS CATALYTIC<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Refer to the list of beliefs you generated during Exercise 7A, Exercise 9, or Exercise 10. If none of those lists is readily available, identify one or two beliefs that guide you in each of the areas below, for a total of about ten. Keep a record of those beliefs, many of which you\u2019ll be examining in exercises to follow. Suggested areas from which to draw beliefs are:<\/span>
\u2022 where you find joy<\/span>
\u2022 where you find meaning and purpose<\/span>
\u2022 your view of others \u2013 especially those whose views differ from your own<\/span>
\u2022 your personal life<\/span>
\u2022 your vocational\/professional life<\/span>
\u2022 advice\/guidance you offer others<\/span>
\u2022 political positions you advocate<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Choose three or more beliefs you rely on for guidance and are interested in examining. If you have not already done so, use the questionnaire found in Exercise 7A to determine whether those beliefs are informative or reassuring. Don\u2019t be concerned if you find it hard to tell whether some or all the catalytic narratives you assess are informative or reassuring.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Print the appropriate number of copies of the tool below.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Write each belief in the space containing the sentence stem, \u201cI believe that . . .\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Keeping the pertinent belief in mind, answer each of the questions in \u201cA Tool to Help You Determine Whether a Belief is Catalytic.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Record any thoughts, feelings, or questions that arise during this exercise in the space provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

A TOOL TO HELP YOU DETERMINE<\/span>
WHETHER A BELIEF<\/span>
IS\u00a0 CATALYTIC\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Belief to be examined: I BELIEVE THAT . . .<\/span><\/p>\n

To determine whether the belief in question is a catalytic narrative, determine whether it satisfies criterion 1) and at least three additional criteria.<\/span><\/p>\n

1) The belief in question makes no falsifiable predictions because of one or more of the following:<\/span>
a. It makes no predictions.<\/span>
b. Believers are encouraged to \u201cexplain away\u201d predictive failures and to be uncritical of the quality of those explanations.<\/span>
c. Even if believers interpret the narrative as predictive, they hold the interpreter \u2013 rather than the belief \u2013 responsible for any predictive failures.<\/span><\/p>\n

2) The belief in question accounts, after the fact, for a wide range of events.<\/span><\/p>\n

3) The belief in question fails to encourage (or actively discourages) seeking, generating, and promulgating challenging facts and arguments.<\/span><\/p>\n

4) The belief in question strongly discourages critical examination of challenging arguments, logic, and\/or events.<\/span><\/p>\n

5) The belief in question strongly discourages the re-examination of claimed predictive successes.<\/span><\/p>\n

What thoughts, feelings, or questions arose during this exercise?<\/span><\/p>\n

REFERENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Festinger, L., Riecken, H. W., & Schacter, S. (1956).\u00a0 When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.<\/p>\n

Hoffer, E. (1951). The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. New York: Harper & Row.<\/p>\n

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/p>\n

Neumann, J. (2018). To Heal the World? New York: All Points Books.<\/p>\n

Rokeach, M. (1964). The Three Christs of Ypsilanti: A Narrative Study of Three Lost Men. New York: Knopf.<\/p>\n

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1971). Belief in the Law of Small Numbers. Psychological Bulletin, 105-110.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BELIEF: AN OWNER\u2019S MANUALARTICLE 11 A CLOSER LOOK AT AMBIGUITYPART 4:CATALYTIC NARRATIVES The most ambiguous beliefs of all are those I call catalytic narratives.\u00a0 A catalytic narrative is simply a belief that makes no falsifiable claims but appears, to those who embrace it, to be a profound truth. Like a catalyst, it transforms what it … Continue reading “Article 11”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-139","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":998,"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/139\/revisions\/998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/barneysplace.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}