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When Being Right Resists Being Truthful: Consequences of Barriers to what is Meaningful

Writer's picture: Luis A. MarreroLuis A. Marrero

Updated: Jan 5

© Luis A. Marrero, Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose, January 14, 2021. Updated April 30, 2021

“You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to join together with a crowd in order to pervert justice;”
Exodus 23:2

Purpose

This paper will answer the following question: Is what you believe to be right based on truth and reality?

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On November 18, 2016, I wrote a paper on this blog titled, “The ‘Meaning’ of the 2016 Presidential Election.” At the time, students and followers of Meaningful Purpose Psychology wanted to know how the science explained an unconventional election’s dynamics and how to best respond. I encourage you to read that paper to contextualize this article.


But let me first answer the question: Why would people knowledgeable in Meaningful Purpose Psychology (Logoteleology) think of this science to seek answers about current events? What sets Logoteleology apart from other schools of psychology?


According to Viktor Frankl,

  1. The Psychoanalytic school (Freud’s) pursues happiness

  2. The Individual Psychology school (Adler) pursues power

  3. The Logotherapy school (Frankl) pursues meaning


More current behavioral sciences, such as the Positive Psychology school (Seligman), pursues the good life or the positive aspects of the human experience.


In turn, Meaningful Purpose Psychology (Marrero) pursues truth and reality.  Previous schools’ worthy contributions cannot be fully maximized without a grounding in truth and reality.  Such an axiom explains the paradox that gave birth to Meaningful Purpose Psychology (MP):


“Mankind, I concluded, does not suffer from a lack of answers. Rather, it suffers despite the answers being available.” ~ Luis A. Marrero ~

As a student of psychology and other sciences, I am very impressed and awed at the contributions of pioneers and their followers in their respective fields. I believe that answers to our individual, social, and political problems exist. The challenges we face today in our individual homes, communities, and nations do have answers. And these solutions are readily available. You might ask, “If answers exist and are readily available, how is it possible problems persist?” To answer such a question, let us review MP’s definition of ‘meaning’ [i] and then use the MP’s Identity Model to answer why current solutions do not solve our fundamental challenges. I will conclude by offering solutions to increase the odds that we are implementing healthy and intelligent solutions.


What is ‘Meaning’?


In MP psychology, meanings are intentions and goals (aims) backed by reasons, motives, and justifications. Nothing, including behavior, can happen without a reason, motive, and justification. Behavioral action and its consequences are the outcomes of a cause. Said differently, meanings set the behavioral agenda.


“What do you mean, ‘meanings set the behavioral agenda?'” you may ask. Have you noticed that you treat others according to your opinion of them? Consider how your attributions of others influence your attitudes and feelings toward them. According to Logoteleology theory, once you ‘lock-on’ to an opinion of other, you will act according to that opinion. There is no way out of that truth.

“Meaning is what is meant.” Frankl, Viktor E., (1988) The Will to Meaning. Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy. New York: Penguin Books, 1988, p. 62

Can Meanings be Smart and Healthy?


Meanings can be intelligent or ignorant, as well as healthy or unhealthy. Hence, meanings have content, which has a quality to it. For instance, a weak meaning is based on an opinion, while a strong meaning is based on empirical fact. For example, there is a difference between me telling another person, “I think he went to the laundry,” and “He went to the laundry.” The second is more certain than the first. That answers how meanings can be intelligent (confident and robust) versus not.


Again, in MP, meanings can be healthy or unhealthy. A healthy meaning edifies, and an unhealthy meaning demeans and harms. For example, when someone communicates that he loves you, the reasons, motives, and justifications for saying so are to edify, build up, honor another, and express affection. When someone states that he hates you, the reasons, motives, and justifications for saying so are to demean, disrespect, and bully.


The previous explanations state why Logoteleology proposes that meanings have content and that such content has quality. Meanings can be smart (as in Intelligence Quotient) and healthy (e.g., morality, ethics, virtuousness, etc.), as well as dumb (unintelligent) and unhealthy or corrupt.


The MP Identity Model


In its simplest form, the MP Identity Model has four components, each with its own construct. Due to time and space, I will not cover the detailed construction of each component of the model. The reader is encouraged to visit the Boston Institute for Meaningful Purpose blog [iii] for more information and to read the book Meaningful Purpose: A Primer in Logoteleology, which I co-authored with my colleague Daniel Persuitte.

Logoteleology Identity Model in Action

Figure 1 Meaningful Purpose Psychology Identity Model


As stated, meanings are intentions and goals backed by reasons, motives, and justifications. These meanings determine and spur a type and intensity of motivation, which fuels purposeful (behavioral) action. (To understand the difference between Meaning and Purpose, please read my paper, Differentiating Between Meaning and Purpose, and Why it Matters. [iv])


Actions have consequences. Such a result can be minuscule and unnoticed (e.g., the butterfly effect[v]), as well as substantial and consequential (e.g., the aftermath of a riot). The final element, ‘Feedback,’ helps the person or entity determine if the intended consequence matches or fulfills the intended meaning. It answers the question: Is the outcome or result congruent with my goal (supported by reasons, motives, and justifications)?


Among other things, Certified Logoteleologists (MP) analyze two things:

  1. Is the consequence congruent with the intended meaning?

  2. Was the meaning healthy and intelligent?


It should be evident now that the meaning can be precisely what the person intended to fulfill, thus explaining the consequence. Congruence, however, does NOT imply that the meaning was healthy or intelligent. Trained and certified Logoteleologists discern these distinctions.


Incongruent Consequence, Meaning, and Purpose


A competent Logoteleologist, leveraging the MP Identity Model above, can discern why the client’s meaning, purpose, and content are dissonant or lack harmony. Success and failure fall into one of two categories:


  1. The intelligence and health of the meaning

  2. The degree of competence (skills and abilities) of the Purpose (In MP science, Purpose is the field of applied competence, action, and doing.)


Hence, I can mean well and be fully committed to doing something, but if I lack the skills, I will not succeed. For example, I might be very willing to fix my non-operating automobile. Still, I will have to pay someone else to fix my car if I lack the skills to repair the mechanical or computer problem.


Also, I can be fully competent to do something yet find it unfulfilling and even meaningless (which explains many of commerce, government, and industry’s problems with employee engagement or commitment to work).


Among other MP methods, the Identity Model allows the trained Logoteleologist to guide their client to become more aware and in tune with reality and truth. We confidently know and believe that existing solutions are of no avail unless people


  1. have the competence to solve life’s demands

  2. mean to confront life’s needs and expectations through a meaningful (uplifting and edifying) agenda


“Our experience tells us that, as a rule, social corruption, political infighting, employee disengagement, wars, and other evils are not primarily due to the lack of competence. Instead, we are convinced that the bulk of intractable personal and social problems are the outcomes of corrupt meanings.“

The MP Identity Model as a Solution

Our experience tells us that, as a rule, social corruption, political infighting, employee disengagement, wars, and other evils are not primarily due to a lack of competence. Instead, we are convinced that most intractable personal and social problems are due to corrupt meanings. The good news is that – and this is what Meaningful Purpose Psychology proclaims – there are solutions to our challenges. Also, we can thrive if and when we pursue meaningful ends.


In summary, we can


  1. Learn and apply the competencies that lead to human thriving

  2. Eagerly apply skills and abilities through meaningful (uplifting, virtuous, and edifying) meanings


Is Your ‘Right’ ‘Truthful’?


There are ways to explain why intractable problems are not solved. While not a comprehensive list, here are some of the suspects:

  1. What we believe to be right is not true or based on reality. Yet, we remain indifferent and are not prone to seek truth.

  2. We know and believe it is true and right, but we choose not to be congruent with our beliefs and values. We deny reality and truth.

  3. We know and believe what is true and right, but we lack the competence to put it into practice.

  4. We chose not to embrace truth to justify what is false by attempting to make it right. We lack integrity.

  5. Related to some of the above, we prefer to subscribe to a herd mentality because we lack the courage to contradict those in the majority who follow a false narrative.


When we believe something is right, we must ensure it is accurate (e.g., true) and real. Accuracy requires that we develop a healthy appetite to be honest, pursue truth, and take responsibility for using our analytical mental skills to discern what is real and not. Unfortunately, many today believe themselves to be right, yet they are being manipulated and deceived by the masters of propaganda. (I encourage readers to watch, for example, “The Social Dilemma” documentary.[vi])


As long as individuals do not take responsibility to seek and follow the truth, they will be victims of deceivers. Again, taking responsibility for one’s life requires having healthy and intelligent meanings, which are practiced through supportive skills and abilities.


The quote from the Book of Exodus at the beginning of this article is advice we should take seriously. Blindly following others without discernment can lead to negative consequences.


“Wanting to be right can get in the way of wanting to be truthful.”
Luis A. Marrero

Confirmation Bias


Among the many root causes of unwelcome outcomes is confirmation bias. Confirmation biases are a meaning problem that keeps people blind, bringing negative consequences on themselves. For example, many read and listen to social media and news outlets that confirm their predispositions. These predispositions lead to polarization and a lack of cooperation. It helps to understand that our biases are not necessarily right or truthful. Logoteleology encourages people to replace prejudices and assumptions with truth and reality.


“Logoteleology encourages people to replace prejudices and assumptions with truth and reality.”

It is also essential to realize that meaning disharmony is not only an intra-psychic phenomenon but also an interpersonal phenomenon that can either bring us together or tear us apart. When meanings collide among individuals or groups of people, the consequences can be harmful. We encourage our readers to join us in increasing meaningful meaning accuracy and social meaning harmony.

Logoteleology too encourages people to replace prejudices and assumptions with truth and reality.


Where Do We Go From Here? - A Meaningful Path


I have intended to communicate that we have options for responding to life’s demands and expectations. Two things need to be accomplished if we are going to thrive and live fruitful and fulfilling existences:


  1. Commit to meaningful (uplifting, virtuous, and edifying) meanings.

  2. Gain and apply the knowledge and skills to support your intelligent and healthy meanings.


Remember that if the consequences are meaningless and damaging, either the meaning, the competence, or both will need improvement. If you need assistance, you can contact us

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All citations searched on January 14, 2021

 
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