Politically Motivated Reasoning
= "If a subject engages in politically motivated reasoning when assessing some evidence or argument, their assessment of that evidence or argument is nontrivially influenced by their background political beliefs". [1]
Discussion
Tim Hayward:
"For reasons that evolutionary psychologists have expounded, human beings exhibit certain biases in their beliefs about the world. In the context of a developed society, biases in perceptions of social realities can potentially be influenced by political beliefs". [2]
When this occurs it is referred to as politically motivated reasoning (PMR). As Carter and McKenna explain:
‘If a subject engages in politically motivated reasoning when assessing some evidence or argument, their assessment of that evidence or argument is nontrivially influenced by their background political beliefs. If the evidence or argument causes trouble for those beliefs, they try to reject it, explain it away, or minimize its importance; if the evidence or argument supports those beliefs, they enthusiastically endorse it, and exaggerate its importance.’ (Carter and McKenna 2020, 706)
An interesting feature of academic discussions in the West today is that the problem of politically motivated reasoning is attributed more to holders of conservative beliefs and values. Thus a claim that has come to be widely shared is that the vulnerability to being misled by faulty information is a bigger problem for conservatives than for liberals."