[Neurons] 2022 Neurons #7 DISTINGUISHING CAUSES & BLAME

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2022 Neurons #7

February 21, 2022

Distinctions #7

 

                DISTINGUISHING

      CAUSE & BLAME

 

If there's a place where confusion is king and the land is the Land of
Misery, it is the confusion between identifying a cause and blaming someone.
This is the confusion also between a person being responsible for something
which we hold that person accountable verses blaming and accusing.  The
first describe a healthy relationship for healthy people, the second
describes a sick and toxic mind-set that leads to destructive relating.  And
inside of that mix is another difference.  That's the difference between
that which causes something and the symptoms that result.

 

To clear out these confusions, let's start by defining what we're referring
to.

Cause.  In a simple and limited context, a cause is that which brings about
or produces an effect.  If you slam a face with sufficient force, blood will
rush to the skin and it will redden.  The slam would be the cause of the
redden skin.  If you fall of a ladder and break a bone, falling is the cause
of the break. Well, it is one cause.  Even in this example, falling is not
the sole cause while it may be the primary one.  A wobbling ladder may have
contributed, someone yelling that distracted the person may be another, or
what if the person had a heart attack and then fell.  So there could be many
causes-multiple causes which include direct causes and contributing factors.


 

Responsible.  To be able to make a response, response-able.  This describe
one who has the capacity to mentally, emotionally, verbally, or behaviorally
make a response. When you hold someone responsible for something, you are
essentially saying, "You are the one with the power to do X, to correct it,
and/or to change it."

 

Blame.  This means to find fault, to censure, to condemn, etc.  It
originated from blasmer to reproach, sometimes is used in the sense of "to
hold responsible for a fault."  Whereas cause looks for the factors and
variables that influence a result, blame focuses on the inter-personal
relationship in which one person reproaches another by finding fault and
condemning.  Blaming describes a negative way of relating, so no wonder we
all have such a strong reaction to being blamed.

 

Symptoms.  A symptom is the result or consequence of a cause. People
frequently confuse emotions as the problem, but they are symptoms of
thinking, interpreting, valuing,  etc.

 

When you say, 'X caused Y' you are holding X responsible for Y.  You are
implying that X directly caused Y.  Ask, "What did X do that directly
brought Y about?"  Take inflation.  For most of 2021 inflation in the US has
been at 7 percent.  

What is the cause of inflation?  Who is to blame?  Is influence a symptom? 

 

Granted that inflation results from multiple causes, we do know the primary
cause- printing money.  That devalues the currency and makes money less
valuable.  It invites manufactures, retailers, and everyone then to raise
prices. So who set the policy to print more money or push for legislation
that resulted in printing more money?  Now we go to those in the government
who passed multiple bills that created a flood of money into the economy.
So I hold President Biden responsible for the current inflation and more
specifically his policies.

 

Did he and the democrats have good intentions?  Yes, I'm sure they were
doing what they thought best.  Yet beyond intentions, we need to go to what
and how they thought-their understandings and beliefs about economics and
government.  In this case, believing in "big government," and that it's best
to have a central government making decisions, they responded to the
pandemic and the downturn in the economy by passing multiple spending bills.
They made that response, so they are responsible.

 

So far there has been no blame or fault-finding.  So far, I have only been
identifying the persons with the power to respond to the situation.  So when
does blame come in, if ever?  Blame would arise when it becomes obvious that
"printing more money" does not work, but that flooding the economy with more
money actually results in inflation.  Once that becomes clear, then to
continue doing what does not work gives place for "finding fault."  That
people make mistakes, misunderstand how something like the economy works,
etc., that's human nature.  It is continuing to do what is harmful that
enables one to take the next step, namely, reproaching the person for making
things worse. 

 

I use this example because it has been one of the main conversations
politically for some time.  We spent more than a whole year throwing money
at the economy and now we have the worst inflation in decades.  The first
step in any confrontation is holding someone responsible for his or her
actions.  When done respectfully, this is a caring relational skill.  The
second step is issuing a warning that rebukes in order to help the person
get back on track.  What makes the rebuke ineffective is typically a closed
mind.  The person cuts off feedback, refuses to face reality, and is driven
by bias and ideology.  By the time of a rebuke, things are usually in a
pretty bad way and so it often does not work.

 

 

 

 

 

 




 

 

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Neuro-Semantics

P.O. Box 8

Clifton CO. 81520 USA

www.neurosemantics.com 

 

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134324 NeuroSemantics Inside Out Front Cover

 

 

 

 

 

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