Page:Psychology and preaching.djvu/59

 MENTAL SYSTEMS 4*

a prejudice. In subsequent experience with that person it puts one in an attitude of antagonism or friendliness which inevitably evokes such responses as will justify the original judgment; and so it persists through life, perhaps, resisting the rational process of reflection. Such prejudices may, of course, grow up in any of one s relations and in any field of experience.

Sometimes they partake both of the nature of non-ra tional popular belief and of personal prejudice. Of this type often are the attitudes of great national groups toward one another. As an outgrowth both of unreflective per sonal experience and of social suggestion, national groups may come to have notions of one another which a critical examination would show to be gross caricatures, but which unconsciously colour the personal experiences with one an other of the individuals of the groups. Deep feelings of aversion or attraction become involved; and the national prejudices so engendered resist all the efforts of rational criticism to dissolve them. In conjunction with other causes they are often responsible for the frightful tragedy of war. This is a matter for earnest thought in this age of the world when international relations constitute so great and pressing a problem.

Surely a thoroughly rational ordering of human conduct, attained by the critical control of all the processes of thought, is much to be desired ; but is a rare achievement indeed. In fact, it is never achieved. Some non-rational popular beliefs, some individual and group prejudices may be found even in the most enlightened intelligences ; and are, of course, much more numerous in minds less accustomed to critical reflection. Indeed, in such minds it is not uncom mon to see such a petrifaction of the main parts of the mental system; and then we have &quot; the closed mind,&quot; a phenomenon discussed elsewhere. 1

i See Chap. VIII.

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