Q&A: Psychological
Psychological
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What do you think would be an appropriate response to someone who claims that all the things I feel certain about (morality, meaning, free choice) are an illusion, some useful psychological need? He is not denying that I feel this way; rather, he argues that I do in fact feel this way for various reasons, and that this is how I developed. For example, he could tell me that there are also people who deny that something happened to them (they repress it) because it helps them function better, but it would be proper for them to wake up, because that is not the true reality. So too, we should wake up even though we want to believe in those things (that is, the desire to believe in these things and the psychological security do not really constitute a criterion). Is there a way out of this mess?
Thank you
Answer
No. The question is whether that is what you think or not.
Discussion on Answer
Obviously not. But about that too he will claim that it stems from a psychological need. The very need I have to see it as something real. So how can one get out of this circle?
Why do you care what he says? I can also say that neither of you exists (actually only you do exist, and you’re a purple hippopotamus on Mars).
Ask the questioner—maybe his claim itself is also an illusion and a psychological need…
?
I already said that you can’t.