The Fundamental Error in everyday life

One cannot change one’s nature and yet one cannot say that a specific set of attributes or states represent their own nature. One is always subject to change, either objectivelly (such as the changes we go through during ontological development and due to changing exterior conditions) or subjectivelly, in a discrete and conceptual manner. YET, one shall never change, since one cannot violate or act upon its own nature (the quintessential part of themselves).

The tension between change and the status quo of the self is reflected at all possible levels in our own psychological universe and AND at all levels within our interaction with the world around us.

Let’s assume we just told a lie for the first time in our life. What is our reaction? We say:
(1) if I said a lie,
(2) does this make me a lier?

(1) = if this changed occured
(2) = did my nature (the status quo) change?

Most often we answer NO to ourselves (NO, this does not make me a lier; I am NOT a lier myself)
and equally as often we answer YES when we make the same judgement about somebody else (i.e., YES, he/she is a lier because she lied NOW)

This is the Fundamental Error in Psychology or the fundamental attribution error.

We know what we are, therefore we cannot say that the things that we do reflect our true nature, as it really is, forever and as a rule. We are so “tolerant” with ourselves and it is perfectly justified to be so. We do wrong things, but this does not MAKE us bad people. We do good things, but that will never redeem nor sanctify us. Changes are temporary states of being that we are responsible of. Changes are the result of our decision and temporary preferences. The same stays true for everything that we do.

We are less “tolerant” about other people. We see them through the lenses of a prosecutor who looks for relevant and irrelevant details. In the end, we will come to a conclusion about their “nature”, about who they really are.

In the latter case, we are fundamentally wrong.

The fundamental error is the root of all our reason to be or not to be (friends) with a person. We love or hate people on the basis of fundamentally wrong attributional judgements. We will break up or come together time and time again, dancing to the song of the Fundamental Error.

And no, it is not fascinating, it is worrying. Just think about it:

Every time you meet someone, that person will not make the difference between what you do and who you really are.

As a closing note, I will ask you the following question:

what do you choose: TO BE or NOT TO BE (honest)? (will it ever matter?)