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What Rationalizing Is and Isn't

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Daily Dose of Reason - Psychology & Self-Improvement
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Sunday, 15 March 2009 00:00
It's not rationalizing when you have rational facts to back up your conclusion -- and when you haven't deliberately left any facts out. I sometimes hear people say, "I have to rationalize my decision." They say it as if this is a good thing. If they mean to say that they want to make sure they have facts and logic to back up their decision, this IS a good thing--but should not be called rationalizing. If they mean to say that they're distorting facts, or leaving out relevant ones, to pseudo-justify a conclusion ... well, this would be nothing more than a cynical break with reality. Rationalizing isn't a good thing. It's not the same as an innocent mistake, either. An innocent mistake is when you sincerely try to find all the reasons to do a particular thing, and conclude it's right--and then later realize you didn't know of a crucial factor, or sincerely didn't think of something that would have led you to a different decision. Mistakes can be damaging to your life, but you recover from them as best you can. Rationalization is worse. You bruise your mind, not just your situation.
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