Why I am a man of belief: I need to know
why others believe in a false version of reality
When I say that I am a man of belief most
would think that I am referring to my personal system of faith but in this
context that is not what I am referring to. Rather I am seeking to understand
what motivates people to behave as they do on the most fundamental level. I seek
to understand how people come to perceive the world since this defines how they
will interact with others. Since I have this deep need to understand how others
perceive reality it is painfully obvious to me that reality is the last thing that
is often sought to be understood. To understand this process better, we must first
delve into the realm of Jungian psychology. Jung theorized that the parts of a
person’s psyche that have failed to be integrated into a complete personality will
simply refuse to be denied. Rather these unintegrated sub-personas will project
themselves out onto the world at large. So, when I state that I am a man of
belief what I am referring to is the phenomenon of identifying how people come
to believe what they believe and interact with others as a result. This reactionary
behaviour was labelled by Dr. Jung as “shadow projection”. To develop this
understanding one must first identify the effects that the unintegrated parts of
our personality dictate how we will perceive the world around us and interact
socially in it. For it is these unintegrated sub-personas that will paint the
canvas of our perceptions. This results in our false perceptions being laid out
in identifiable patterns of repeated self-defeating behaviours.
Dr. Leon Festinger's brilliant work on
Cognitive Dissonance explains in brutal clarity that a mountain of evidence
presented to an individual who is possessed by their unintegrated shadow often fails
to persuade them to relinquish beliefs that the evidence presented has demonstrated
to be false. Quite the opposite in fact. Evidence presented to an individual
captured by their own shadow will only cause them to double down on beliefs
driven by the projection of the very shadow that they deny and repress.
Moreover, their shadow will attack any and all who seek to enlighten them for
they fear the light that could reveal the unintegrated parts they desperately seek
to keep hidden.
Since the shadow is not the whole and complete
individual it operates as a sub-persona that reduces the world into a state of
reductionism which rejects complexity and nuance. In fact, it has been my experience
that any attempt to reason or debate with a person captured by their unintegrated
shadow will merely repeat Dr. Festingers’ experiment in Cognitive Dissonance. Since
an individual thus captured by their own shadow is completely unaware of the things
that actually create their own belief system, they run about projecting their shadow
onto others wondering why people react as they do to their false grasp of reality.
Narcissism is a mechanism the psyche often employs to protect the shadow from being
exposed to the light. The narcissist’s prime task in life is to find others who
will validate their lack of psychological integration. This is known as seeking
for narcissistic supply. To a narcissist thus driven by their unintegrated shadow
others exist only for their validation since the farce must be substantiated by
others who will play along with their delusional ideation.
This sadly is why politics is a realm where
unindividuated people with reductionist views of reality play their sick narcissistic
game to project their twisted understanding of how the world ought to operate
onto the body politic. The only thing that can end this sick dance is to expose
the fact that the emperor’s new set of clothes ain’t nothing but a birthday suit.
It is so easy, at least for me, to uncover what beliefs motivate our political
class where diplomacy, nuance, maturity and self-awareness are swept away by a
torrent of shadow projection where anyone who dares to challenge the naked emperor
will be vilified. Challenging the psychologically unwhole narcissist will
invariably be met with disdain and contempt to the point where the narcissist’s
shadow will demand that those who see reality for what it is must be silenced and
indeed by force if necessary. This is precisely why we are seeing legislation
currently being drafted aimed at silencing dissent by making telling the truth
a hate crime.
In summary: My reflections touch on profound psychological and philosophical themes.
In exploring the intersection of belief, perception, and psychological
integration, through the lenses of Carl Jung’s shadow theory and Leon
Festinger’s cognitive dissonance.
🔍 Understanding Belief Through the Shadow
When I say that I am a "man of belief," I am not referring to
dogma or doctrine, but rather to a quest to understand the architecture of
belief itself—how people construct their realities, often unconsciously.
This is a powerful stance, because it shifts the focus from what people
believe to why they believe it.
Jung’s concept of the shadow—the unconscious parts of ourselves
we deny or repress—offers us a compelling framework. These unintegrated aspects
don’t disappear; they manifest externally through projection, shaping
how individuals perceive others and the world. This projection creates a
distorted lens, often leading to self-defeating behaviors, tribalism,
and ideological rigidity.
🧠 Cognitive Dissonance and the Defense of False Realities
Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance complements Jung’s
ideas. When confronted with evidence that contradicts deeply held beliefs,
individuals often experience psychological discomfort. Rather than revise their
beliefs, they may:
- Double
down on their existing views.
- Rationalize or
reinterpret the evidence.
- Attack the
source of the contradiction.
This is especially true when those beliefs are tied to the shadow,
because acknowledging the truth would mean confronting painful, repressed
aspects of the self.
🧍♂️ Narcissism and the Need for Validation
My connection between narcissism and shadow projection is important
since narcissistic behavior should be seen as a defense mechanism to shield the
ego from the vulnerability of integration. The narcissist seeks external
validation to maintain their fragile self-image, often manipulating others
into reinforcing their delusions. This dynamic is particularly visible in political
and ideological arenas, where power and identity are at stake.
🏛️ Politics as a Stage for Shadow Projection
Politics has become a theater for collective shadow projection.
Leaders and followers alike may operate from unexamined beliefs, projecting
their fears and desires onto opponents. The result is a reductionist
worldview that resists nuance and vilifies dissent. The metaphor of the
“emperor’s new clothes” is apt since truth-tellers are often punished for
exposing uncomfortable realities.
💡 Where Do We Go From Here?
My analysis raises a vital question: How can we foster psychological
integration and collective maturity? Here are some possibilities:
- Promoting
self-awareness through education, therapy, and
introspection. Most importantly the Christian life itself is one of self
examination for a Christian knows that he or she is his or her worst enemy 2 Corinthians 13:5- “Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
- Encouraging
dialogue that values complexity over certainty.
- Creating
spaces where dissent is not only tolerated but
respected.
- Recognizing
projection in ourselves and others as a path to empathy.
- Recognizing
the limits of empathy, though can empathise with
the narcissist’s ideological possession this does not mean that we should
have suicidal empathy for ideas that are deconstructing the very
foundations of functional civil order and discourse
