Why do facts sometimes not change our mind?
Personal opinion. Opinion developed on pre-existing experiences or facts, that stand strong in the face of new information. That, or just carelessness.
Based on an experience, I may believe that acupressure is the one sure way to relieve headaches. If new research — new, unbiased, as true as it gets research — reveals that acupressure does, in fact, have no relieving properties, I would not believe it one bit. But that’s a little too cosy, so let’s look at something more traditionally political.
I support Party A because in the past they have served my interests and I feel that they will continue to. Tomorrow, if I learn that what Party A has been doing for me was not, in fact, beneficial, my support would waver. But will I completely stop supporting Party A? Maybe not. Because of the trust I have in them, based on my positive experiences, I might chose to ignore the facts presented. It’s a complicated process and I have probably been horribly manipulated, but regardless, I will not change my mind over Party A.
Carelessness is a pretty relevant factor here as well. One simply might not care about the new facts presented to them. It can be argued that this carelessness stems from a deeper ignorance to things that this person disagrees with, period, but maybe not. Maybe it just doesn’t matter to them whether they’re doing things generally considered moral or immoral.
(Why does everything end with morality?)
