if they followed thier own standards, would be more likely to persist in beliefs

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keannu

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I dont know why "if they followed thier own standards, would be more likely to persist in beliefs irrationally." is presented as a counterfactual conditional. Even stubborn thinkers would stick to their initial ideas, not changing them later, then why is "following their own stadards" presented as counterfactual?

pr59
ex)People have their own standards for thinking, some of which encourage poor thinking. The heuristics that we use to form our beliefs is maintained by certain explicit beliefs about how thinking should be conducted- beliefs transmitted through the culture. People differ in their beliefs about how one should draw conclusions. Some think that changing one's mind is a sign of weakness and that a good thinker is one who is determined, committed, and steadfast. Such people, if they followed thier own standards, would be more likely to persist in beliefs irrationally. Other believe that good thinkers are open-minded, willing to listen to the other side, and flexible. Most of us probably agree somewhat to both of these beliefs. Whatever our beliefs, most of us desire to be good thinkers, so we try to follow our own standards.
 

SlickVic9000

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I don't see what is counter factual about that statement. People who aren't given to changing their minds for fear of appearing weak-minded are likely to follow beliefs irrationally.
 

keannu

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If you use a past tense of the verb, it's more likely to denote a counterfatual or unlikely event or action of the subject. Haven't you realized the difference between the following two?

a.If he were president of Korea, I would speak to him.(I know he isn't president of Korea, but in the fictional situation of his being president of Korea, I would speak to him)
b.If he is president of Korea, I will (I don't know if he is president of Korea, but in case of his being so, I will speak...)

So I guess the underlined sentence should be correct to this.
"Such people, if they follow thier own standards, will be more likely to persist in beliefs irrationally.
 

SlickVic9000

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The sentence doesn't need correction beyond a single spelling issue ("their"). He's suggesting if these people were to follow their own standards, they would be intellectually backwards. We often use past tense when making hypothetical statements.
 

keannu

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That's what I meant, so I took it weird that the writer thinks these people - stubborn ones stiking to their initial ideas - don't follow their own standards in normal time.
 

keannu

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So do you think the writer made a mistake?
For this, I'd like to make a temporary conclusion that people don't always think logically and conditionals are just determined by people's thinking whether it's right or wrong.
 

SlickVic9000

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I feel this is a hypothetical statement. The author is making no supposition in regard to whether people who subscribe to this pattern of thought actually think that way.
 
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