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From Driven by Paul R. Larence and Niten Nohria:
All of these events [debunking of belief systems] have led people to a cynical and severely skeptical view of the world and even to a loss of faith in the possibility of further human development and progress. This has led them to a refusal to believe and to a fear of any general explanation of human existence or positive vision of the future.
This segment was taken from a chapter discussing the intersect of the drive to defend and the drive to learn. Humans in general have a drive to learn and make sense of the world. This is what leads people to religion, science, spirituality, communism, etc. The last 150 years according to the authors has been a story of debunking on belief system to another. This has lead to an existence where out of self defense, people choose not to have a system not based on belief but of criticizing others' belief systems. I will admit that I to fall habit of this from time to time.
This behavior unfortunately expands well beyond the search for meaning, here are some other areas that people fall victim to a sort of paralysis by analysis:
Diet
No matter what you choose to eat, like eggs for example, there will be one "expert" saying eggs are good for you and another "expert" taking the opposite stance. A person trying to eat a healthier diet does not know who's right and just gives up and returns to their diet of high fructose corn syrup that the government, through corn subsidies, says is good for them.
Exercise
Cardio, weight training, yoga, pilates: which should I do to lose weight? The whole fitness industry is a sham. Magazines will tell you to do start running one month and the next month they tell you its bad for your knees. Then they tell you to use machines instead of free weights because you are less likely to hurt yourself, but the next month they tell you to use the free weights because the machines don't use all the stabilizer muscles. The idea is to keep you confused so they can move you from one product to the next keeping sales high. Those trying to lose weight end up back on the couch because of all of the conflicting stories even when picking one thing, anything, and sticking to it would be better.
Environment
Paper bags waste trees, plastic bags are made from oil cause us to go to war, disposable is better because you use less water, reusable is better because it keeps disposable crap out of the landfill. A very similar problem to that discussed above in exercise. The best solution could be to not buy anything, but the retailers would never tell you that!
Domestic or Foreign; Local or Global
Foreign products come from sweatshops; Any money is better than what they had before; Buy domestic to keep jobs here; Domestic labor unions drive up prices and bankrupt companies with pension plans that ultimately require a government bailout; I just can't buy anything any more without feeling guilty!
The list goes on, and on, and on. What to do? Stop listening to people. Turn off the TV, computer, radio, and anything else that bombards you with advertisements. Go on a low information diet. Spend the time that you would normally be wasting doing one of these activities and instead reflect on what you truly believe the right answer is. Come up with your own belief system, one in which only you can debunk as you advance through life. Stop letting others determine what you think.
-Rex
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