When you become aware of some convincing fact but still want to ignore, overlook or forget it and believe otherwise, is it always easy to do so? Are you able to unlearn comfortably?
We stress a lot on "learning" but ironically its equally important counterpart "unlearning" is often ignored and seldom talked/discussed.
Lets take one of my favorite examples, the example of faith in God. Once you realize that there's nothing supernatural about God, rather it's just a concept, a thought invented by intelligent human(s) for the betterment (through controlling, disciplining or directing)of society, can you again start believing in the super-natural, continuously interfering (punishing and rewarding) role of God because thinking like this will make life much easier/simpler? Believing in supernatural God will normally simplify your life and lighten your mind by eliminating many "why" (which science couldn't explain till date) and replace it by "GOD planned like that" or similar answers. You can easily get forgiven for your wrongdoings, you can seek blessings, pardon and also draw hope and power. Even you can attribute your failure to the will of that God. For every small or big decision, you won’t have to think, apply your logic but simply follow what (the) God or God-men instructed us to do.
Looking at benefits, reverting back is Not a bad deal even for a purely rational mind, isn't it? But still, reverting back to your earlier faith (or degree/intensity of faith) is not at all easy. That's the problem with unlearning!! Learning may be difficult but unlearning is even more difficult.
Whatever you learnt in your childhood (may be through socialization, up-bringing or culture) is hard to change even when proven factually wrong; e.g. if you belong to North India, you are likely to believe that full-fat milk or ghee is the best source of nutrition. Now when you discover that skimmed-milk is scientifically proven to be equally good for health without giving any extra fat content, you find it difficult to convince yourself and change your food habits accordingly. Similarly, when your discover that ghee is as bad for heart as any hydrogenated fat (aka Dalda), you can't convince yourself but keep your disrespect for Dalda little changed.
We are not able to unlearn easily, which is very essential for making wise, rational decisions in life. Is there any way that we can master the art of unlearning? Will relying on logic rather than intuition or traditional knowledge help?
I am trying to think how to make unlearning easier, any directions are welcome!
