1 We are heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with a fervent passion for them when anyone challenges or questions them obviously. It is not that the ideas themselves are dear to us, but rather that our self-esteem is threatened. We are by nature stubbornly pledged to defend our own from attack, whether it be our person, our family, our property, or our opinion. A United States senator once remarked to a friend of mine that God Almighty could not make him change his mind on our Latin-American policy. We may surrender, but we rarely confess ourselves conquered. In the intellectual world, at least, peace is without victory. 2 Few of us take the pains to study the origins of our cherished beliefs indeed, we have a natural dislike for so doing. We like to continue believing what we have been accustomed to accepting as true, and the resentment aroused when doubt is cast upon our assumptions leads us to seek every manner of excuse for clinging to them. The result is that most of our so- called reasoning consists of finding arguments for continuing to believe as we already do. 3 This natural and loyal support of our beliefs—this process of finding 'good reasons' to justify our routine beliefs—is known to modern psychologists as 'rationalization', clearly a new name for a very ancient thing. Our good reasons ordinarily have no value in promoting enlightenment, because, no matter how solemnly they may be arranged, they are at bottom the result of personal preference or prejudice, and not of an honest desire to seek or accept new knowledge. 4 In our dreams, we are frequently engaged in self-justification, for we cannot bear to think ourselves wrong yet we have constant illustrations of our weaknesses and mistakes. So we spend much time finding fault with circumstances and conduct of others, and shifting onto them with great skill the burden of our own failures and disappointments. Rationalization is the self exculpation which occurs when we feel ourselves, or our group, accused of error. Our reactions to others' challenge of our beliefs may cover all of the following EXCEPT_________