[Tall One In Black]

Originally Posted by Scythan

If someone changes their opinion of something without new evidence, they are not being logical.

I think changing one's opinion of something by reevaluating existing evidence is logical.

Originally Posted by Scythan

I didn't mean to imply that convincing yourself that you are more attractive was not to your benefit. I only tried to say that it shouldn't be expected of someone to think in this fashion in order to feel better about him/herself.

How should one begin to feel better about himself?

Originally Posted by Scythan

If someone sees themself as unattractive for a lengthy amount of time, she may be resistant to changes in that opinion. This means that, yes, it may be beneficial for her to convince herself that she is of higher attractiveness, because it is balancing out her other misconception (the thought that she is still ugly). This, however, is still delusory behavior. The fact that in the end it is balanced out does not change this.

You say the thought that she is ugly is the "other" misconception as if believing she is of higher attractiveness is a misconception. In truth, she really is of higher attractiveness.

How can realizing the truth be delusory behavior?

Originally Posted by Scythan

It wouldn't be a very good ideal if the majority of people exhibited it. Not many people can achieve an ideal, but we can all work towards it.

We can, but not all of us want to. Some ideals are unrealistic and even harmful to those who try to achieve them (such as the current "ideal" body for a woman), while others I simply don't respect (such as the ideal of success as measured in dollars).

That said, I believe everyone should have goals... but not necessarily the ones society tells us are the ideals.