Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
People do it every day.
Maybe a better way to put it would be "Intentionally doing something you knowlingly believe to be wrong and you can't rationalise away is pretty close to insantiy."
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If you rationalize it away,
then you don't think it is wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PKFFW
Most people have no problem doing something they know is wrong if they attach no importance to the wrongness or rightness of what they are doing. Take speeding for example. Most people have no problem going 5 or 10 km/h over the speed limit because they don't think this amount is of any importance. They will quite easily rationalise it by claiming they are competant enough drivers to do so or they are in a hurry or in some other way. Of course they will quite happily complain if they are given a speeding ticket.
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You're confusing wrong with
wrong. Or put another way, you're confusing something that might be a bad idea with something that is immoral. I don't think rational people regularly (perhaps ever) intentionally commit an act they personally believe is immoral. Now, they can recognize their act as having possible negative consequences; they might even believe that as a general rule it's not something other people should do. But the whole point of rationalization is to enable one to do what they otherwise would not; if they still thought what they did was really wrong then the rationalization serves no purpose. Oh, when you ask it they may say it was wrong, but that's purely for social convenience.
A possible exception might be if the act is technically immoral but does little harm; in that case I think it's possible to live with one's actions. But to do something that's really in your mind immoral, knowingly, with full awareness of the damage it does? That's antisocial psychotic disorder. If you're not already crazy, the guilt afterwards will make you so. (And has done so with many people.)