2018-11-18

Virtue, Vice, and Cognitive Distortions


The chart above is also available in an INTERACTIVE PDF with live links to Scriptures and online materials that elaborate the brief descriptions in the chart.

For a long time I have had a fascination with the intersection of Theology, Philosophy, Psychology, and Pastoral Care. As a pastoral counselor, I have always trended toward the insight from forms of Cognitive Therapy that we tend to make ourselves miserable by the way we think, and the distorted thought patterns that govern how we process reality. As a philosopher of ethics and moral theologian, I have always been drawn to virtue theory as a way to describe how a person becomes more (or less) Christlike. 

In the Catholic Tradition, this centers on the Seven Cardinal Virtues as descriptors of Christlike character, and the Seven Deadly Sins as descriptors of the vices that inhibit Christlikeness. In fact, the Bible is full of lists of virtues (which describe Christlike character) and lists of vices (which describe selfish and sick character). However, I prefer to adapt St. Paul's list of the "Fruit of the Spirit" (cf. Galatians 5.22-23) as a more robust description of Christlike Virtue, with a corresponding list of "anti-fruit" (or Vice) which describes unhealthy personality traits.

Furthermore, as a philosophy teacher, I teach how Cognitive Biases and Logical Fallacies distort our reasoning ability, and thus diminish our ability to understand reality as it is, and debase our capacity to communicate accurately with others. Many of these same biases and fallacies seem to lie at the root of the very Cognitive Distortions which make us miserable. So it seems to me that there is a strong correlation of, and convergence between, all of these moral-psychological-philosophical phenomena. Therefore, I wanted to sketch this convergence out in one CHART that puts them all together visually in one place. I do not claim this is an exhaustive, or fully accurate, description of how virtue, vice, and cognitive habits intersect. Rather, this is the beginning of a conversation.

Thus I created this CHART which attempts to show how the Virtues of the "Fruit of the Spirit" (cf. Galatians 5.22-23), and their corresponding opposite Vices, are based in patterns of information processing. Taking insights from Glasser's Reality Therapy, and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), we know humans create thinking patterns which form strategies to attain certain life goals, and scripts which we use to explain to ourselves why we do what we do. Strategies and scripts which are formed by Cognitive Distortions, Biases, and Fallacies manifest as Vices which make us less Christlike. Over time, we can dispute and replace these with strategies and scripts that help us become healthy and embody Christlike virtues.

Below is the same content of the CHART in non-chart format, for easier viewing and use in a web-browser format.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - LOVE: Self-giving, Caring, Altruism, Devotion
CORRESPONDING VICE - ENVY: Selfishness, Jealousy, Comparing, Coveting
Associated Cognitive Distortions: The value-oriented root of Vice: It assumes my self is the center of all, and highest Value to pursue, making my self into a god. Thus I fall into special pleading for my case, attributing to myself the best motives, changing standards of evidence to fit my views, while making everything revolve around me. This leads us to lack empathy and the ability to understand others, making our desires narcissistic.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - JOY: Positivity, Delight, Gratitude, Humor
CORRESPONDING VICE - RESENTMENT: Negativity, Spite, Ingratitude
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I have a fairy tale fantasy that the world "should be" how I expect it, and that we live in a "just world" where people "must be" rewarded or punished according to whether I think they deserve it. When the world is not "fair", or does not fit my desires, or people do not meet my expectations, I get resentful and negative. This results in a lack of gratitude, and the inability to enjoy of the world as it actually is.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - PEACE: Harmony, Serenity, Integration, Holism
CORRESPONDING VICE - CONFUSION: Enmeshed, Chaotic, Conflicted, Distracted
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I "should/must" attain unrealistic standards of perfection or approval (extrinsic motivation instead of intrinsic motivation from our own identity and purpose). So I use ambiguous language which confuses issues, as I let others frame issues for me, especially those I seek approval from.  I think that if I just do the right things I can change others, and refuse to leave bad situations because it has cost me so much.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - PATIENCE: Hope, Perseverance, Optimism, Purpose
CORRESPONDING VICE - DESPAIR: Impatient, Cynical, Nihilist, Depressive
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I apply a mental filter to highlight any negative feedback, and disqualify any positive feedback. I assume historical determinism, thinking I can predict negative outcomes, by arguing that current events are a slippery slope to disaster. The inevitable decline is hopeless, leading to constant pessimism. Thus I perform fortune telling and make self-fulfilling prophecies of how bad it will be.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - KINDNESS: Compassion, Mercy, Forgiveness
CORRESPONDING VICE - HATE: Anger, Wrath, Rage, Blame, Bitterness
Associated Cognitive Distortions: When threatened by others who provoke me or disagree, I must protect myself by labelling them negatively, creating caricatures, and pointing out their hypocrisy. I demonize them and reject everything that comes from them as wrong. They must be blamed as guilty until proven innocent, and I must always shift the burden of proof onto them, so I win at all costs, and eliminate them as a threat to myself.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - GOODNESS: Righteousness, Integrity, Character
CORRESPONDING VICE - SLOTH: Apathy, Laziness, Passivity, Avoidance
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I become intellectually lazy, judging based on first impressions, only looking for easily available evidence, and assuming what already is, is the way it ought to be. Thus I only look for data which confirms my existing beliefs. This leads to constant excuses and compromises to avoid conflict. I avoid responsibility while others do the hard work for me, with a passive victim mentality that I can't control anything.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - FAITH(FULNESS): Trusting, Confident, Courageous
CORRESPONDING VICE - FEAR: Anxiety, Dread, Controlling
Associated Cognitive Distortions: When confronted with a dangerous or unknown situation, I catastrophize it and follow a slippery slope to the worst possible outcome. I engage in mind reading, magnifying other's reactions in the most negative way as disdain or disgust for me. Because I attribute false causes and superstitious thinking to the world, I engage in a control fantasy that if I just do the right rituals and habits, I can avoid disaster.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - MEEKNESS: Humble, Obedient, Inter-Dependent
CORRESPONDING VICE - PRIDE: Entitlement, Privilege, Prejudice
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I can only have a strong personal identity by having a strong group identity as part of a group that I identify with. In turn, this group identity can only be maintained by demeaning or excluding other groups, using the logic of "us versus them", "good versus evil", and "chosen versus damned". Thus, I use groupthink and bandwagon-style reasoning to justify my entitlement and privilege over others. 
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - SELF-CONTROL: Disciplined, Organized, Empowered, Free
CORRESPONDING VICE - COMPULSION: Lust, Gluttony, Craving, Addiction
Associated Cognitive Distortions: I assume that whatever makes me feel happy is good for me, and that if a little is good, then more is better (quantity over quality). When I feel bad, I self-medicate with placebos that make me feel good for a short time. When things start going badly, I argue that it is just bad luck, eventually good luck will make it all work out. This false optimism makes me minimize how dysfunctional and miserable I am.
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CHRISTLIKE VIRTUE - WISDOM: Insight, Honesty, Understanding
CORRESPONDING VICE - DECEIT: Distorted, Dishonest, Manipulative
Associated Cognitive Distortions: The fact-oriented root of Vice: It assumes reality must conform to my self, leading to development of most other irrational cognitive distortions. Key among these are my reactance to being wrong in the Backfire Effect. It leads to emotional reasoning based on my incredulity and anecdotal experience, in which I overgeneralize, using false dilemmas, to beg the question, and filter data to strengthen my beliefs.
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1 comment:

  1. Unknown12/06/2022 1:25 PM

    I SAY THIS IN CATASTROPHICALLY BIG LETTERS "NATE GOD BLESS YOU!"
    You have done the work that helps us all.

    ReplyDelete

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This is a bunch of incoherent babble to make us think hard about our incredible love affair with the God of the universe, our astounding infidelities against God, and God's incredible grace to heal and restore us through Christ. Everything on this site is copyright © 1996-2023 by Nathan L. Bostian so if you use it, please cite me. You can contact me at natebostian [at] gmail [dot] com