Difference between revisions of "Necessity Rationalization"
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| − | Relevant to the phenomenon of [[Moral Licensing]], '''Necessity Rationalization''' refers to the act of justifying an action by proclaiming it to be necessary for something, whether it actually is or not. Human beings will always find a way to justify or feel less bad about their actions by any means, even for things they know they shouldn't be doing. Necessity Rationalization differs a bit from Moral Licensing. The latter more focuses on mentally downplaying the harm someone does because good they've done elsewhere, whereas Necessity Rationalization refers to the process of justifying the action in and of itself, | + | Relevant to the phenomenon of [[Moral Licensing]], '''Necessity Rationalization''' refers to the act of justifying an action by proclaiming it to be necessary for something, whether it actually is or not. Human beings will always find a way to justify or feel less bad about their actions by any means, even for things they know they shouldn't be doing. Necessity Rationalization differs a bit from Moral Licensing. The latter more focuses on mentally downplaying the harm someone does because good they've done elsewhere, whereas Necessity Rationalization refers to the process of justifying the action in and of itself -- because if it's necessary, it doesn't factor into moral calculus as a wrong choice. Necessity Rationalization and Moral Licensing very often go hand in hand and can amplify each other. |
| − | In the modern world, in order to maintain a very high quality of life, it's going to come with some harm done, especially in terms of the environment. There are tons of ways it can be reduced collectively and at the individual level to minimize these harms. The easiest way to reduce is to eliminate lifestyle choices that cause | + | In the modern world, in order to maintain a very high quality of life, it's going to come with some harm done, especially in terms of the environment. There are tons of ways it can be reduced collectively and at the individual level to minimize these harms. The easiest way to reduce is to eliminate lifestyle choices that cause disproportionate harm, such as frequent flying for travel, buying a new large vehicle, or even relatively minor things such as cranking the AC up a bit too much or using more paper than you really need. These sorts of actions are prime real estate for Necessity Rationalization, especially for people who are even somewhat concerned about ethics and the environment. They'll usually come in the form of: |
| − | *"I need to take this vacation to Eswatini. I work very hard 50 weeks of the year in a high-impact field | + | *"I need to take this vacation to Eswatini. I work very hard 50 weeks of the year in a high-impact field. I need to have this break to allow me to be properly rested, giving me proper mental and morale boosts, so I can continue to be even more productive at work" And for a moral licensing booster: "which will also allow me to get more money to donate to charities." |
| − | + | *"Sure, the new iPhone is ridiculously overpriced and comes with a bunch of dumb gimmicks I'll never care about when a normal used five year old model would've worked just fine, but I really needed a new phone. The battery was degrading and it was slightly annoying to plug it in at night, and also this one has more storage so I don't have to organize my stuff or download it from my phone. | |
| − | *"Sure, the new iPhone is ridiculously overpriced and comes with a bunch of dumb gimmicks I'll never care about when a normal used five year old model would've worked just fine, but I really needed a new phone. The battery was degrading, and also this one has more storage. | ||
*"Everyone drives such big cars these days, making driving in a smaller one much more dangerous. Getting a big one makes me feel safer and gives me that peace of mind, and not being anxious all the time will help me focus on my work. And it's even good for off-roading, never know when that might come in handy!" | *"Everyone drives such big cars these days, making driving in a smaller one much more dangerous. Getting a big one makes me feel safer and gives me that peace of mind, and not being anxious all the time will help me focus on my work. And it's even good for off-roading, never know when that might come in handy!" | ||
| − | Even the most altruistic people are still human. A lot of these temptations seem like they'd only tempt the average consumerist, but a promise of comfort, | + | Even the most altruistic people are still human. A lot of these temptations seem like they'd only tempt the average consumerist, but a promise of comfort, convenience, and enjoyment is often very enticing, and can be very hard when the opportunity presents itself. People who give a lot will also feel as though they have some ethics points to trade, playing off the Moral Licensing phenomenon. |
| − | Overall, it's best to just be honest with yourself, and don't rationalize away anything. You want to take that plane trip across the world because you want to. | + | Overall, it's best to just be honest with yourself, and don't rationalize away anything. You want to take that plane trip across the world because you want to. It is hypothetically possible to offset those harms, but reduction comes first because of the difficulty of calculating offsetting, and it's something to carefully consider and avoid falling into the trap of moral licensing. It's usually better not to do the harmful thing if its not really necessary, and find alternatives that are less harmful for those things that are needed. |
Latest revision as of 20:24, 27 December 2025
Relevant to the phenomenon of Moral Licensing, Necessity Rationalization refers to the act of justifying an action by proclaiming it to be necessary for something, whether it actually is or not. Human beings will always find a way to justify or feel less bad about their actions by any means, even for things they know they shouldn't be doing. Necessity Rationalization differs a bit from Moral Licensing. The latter more focuses on mentally downplaying the harm someone does because good they've done elsewhere, whereas Necessity Rationalization refers to the process of justifying the action in and of itself -- because if it's necessary, it doesn't factor into moral calculus as a wrong choice. Necessity Rationalization and Moral Licensing very often go hand in hand and can amplify each other.
In the modern world, in order to maintain a very high quality of life, it's going to come with some harm done, especially in terms of the environment. There are tons of ways it can be reduced collectively and at the individual level to minimize these harms. The easiest way to reduce is to eliminate lifestyle choices that cause disproportionate harm, such as frequent flying for travel, buying a new large vehicle, or even relatively minor things such as cranking the AC up a bit too much or using more paper than you really need. These sorts of actions are prime real estate for Necessity Rationalization, especially for people who are even somewhat concerned about ethics and the environment. They'll usually come in the form of:
- "I need to take this vacation to Eswatini. I work very hard 50 weeks of the year in a high-impact field. I need to have this break to allow me to be properly rested, giving me proper mental and morale boosts, so I can continue to be even more productive at work" And for a moral licensing booster: "which will also allow me to get more money to donate to charities."
- "Sure, the new iPhone is ridiculously overpriced and comes with a bunch of dumb gimmicks I'll never care about when a normal used five year old model would've worked just fine, but I really needed a new phone. The battery was degrading and it was slightly annoying to plug it in at night, and also this one has more storage so I don't have to organize my stuff or download it from my phone.
- "Everyone drives such big cars these days, making driving in a smaller one much more dangerous. Getting a big one makes me feel safer and gives me that peace of mind, and not being anxious all the time will help me focus on my work. And it's even good for off-roading, never know when that might come in handy!"
Even the most altruistic people are still human. A lot of these temptations seem like they'd only tempt the average consumerist, but a promise of comfort, convenience, and enjoyment is often very enticing, and can be very hard when the opportunity presents itself. People who give a lot will also feel as though they have some ethics points to trade, playing off the Moral Licensing phenomenon.
Overall, it's best to just be honest with yourself, and don't rationalize away anything. You want to take that plane trip across the world because you want to. It is hypothetically possible to offset those harms, but reduction comes first because of the difficulty of calculating offsetting, and it's something to carefully consider and avoid falling into the trap of moral licensing. It's usually better not to do the harmful thing if its not really necessary, and find alternatives that are less harmful for those things that are needed.
