Humans rationalize arbitrary customs as rational or biological after settling on them

Evidence

Arbitrariness is a critical part of the human experience, because we can eat, drink, dress, sing, dance, play, and think in a nearly infinite number of ways. And yet, once we settle on a particular behavior, we no longer see our decisions as arbitrary. The economist Jon Elster notes, “Human beings have a very strong desire to have reasons for what they do and find indeterminacy hard to accept.” Our brains provide us with post facto rationalizations for our arbitrary acts. We often assume there must be evolutionary instincts that best explain our customary behavior. Stop signs must be red, we infer, because the color of blood signifies danger. Two centuries of anthropological research and several millennia of history, however, provide ample evidence that human behaviors aren’t necessarily the result of rational thinking or unfiltered biological responses. For all the underlying “danger” suggested by the color red, the same shade indicates unbridled joy for many cultures. During China’s Cultural Revolution, rabid Maoist youth demanded traffic lights be reversed so that the patriotic Communist red could mean “go.” — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 117

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s tree/moral-panic interests — arbitrary cultural signifiers given retrospective rational cause. Also echoes Marx’s whole tradition of ideology critique. — connects to: Conventions, not instincts or rationality, best explain much human behavior — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 186; Humans rationalize arbitrary customs post hoc rather than recognizing their contingency; Rationality emerges from taboo rules rather than rules arising from rational reflection — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 135 (+6 more)
• CANDY: The Cultural Revolution demand to reverse traffic lights so red = go is a bright, tweetable anecdote.

Broader Connections

• Humans rationalize arbitrary customs post hoc rather than recognizing their contingency #corroborates (0.97)
• People rationalize outcomes even when they know the outcomes were arbitrary #exemplifies (0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2913
• Stereotype rationalizations are tautologically essentialist and self-contradictory yet retained #exemplifies (0.82) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1371
• Modernity’s self-image as rational depends on denying its own tacit metaphysics #expands (0.80)
• Rationality emerges from taboo rules rather than rules arising from rational reflection #complicates (0.78) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 135
• Scapegoat beliefs can be internally rational given culturally granted premises #qualifies (0.76) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1593
• Premodern cultures operated under differently structured rationalities and value systems #qualifies (0.74)
• Theorizing instinct as socially produced can accidentally naturalize existing social conditions. #expands (0.72)