Thought-terminating cliché

A thought-terminating cliché is a saying, often a tautology, that is repeated in order to relieve the stress of cognitive dissonance by avoiding all further consideration of a matter. Everyday examples include "it is what it is," "it's just common sense," and "you gotta do what you gotta do." It was first described in 1963 by Robert Jay Lifton who studied American servicemembers who had exhibited drastic ideological change after being held as prisoners of war by the Chinese Government:[1]:429

“”The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. These become the start and finish of any ideological analysis. In thought reform, for instance, the phrase "bourgeois mentality" is used to encompass and critically dismiss ordinary troublesome concerns like the quest for individual expression, the exploration of alternative ideas, and the search for perspective and balance in political judgments.
—Robert Jay Lifton
We control what
you think with
Language
Said and done
Jargon, buzzwords, slogans
v - t - e

The concept of "thought-terminating cliché" was preceded by the related concept of "ultimate term", originally published in Richard Weaver's 1953 book The Ethics of Rhetoric.[1]:[2]:212-232

Thought-terminating clichés are an important aspect of mind control as used by cults. For example, the Unification Church uses the cliché "you think too much," while Alcoholics Anonymous says "your best thinking got you here" and "utilize, don't analyze."[3] At the same time, they can also be used by more vanilla religions; for example credo quia absurdum estFile:Wikipedia's W.svg ("I believe because it is absurd").

These sorts of clichés are common in totalitarian societies; according to Hannah ArendtFile:Wikipedia's W.svg, Adolf EichmannFile:Wikipedia's W.svg "was genuinely incapable of uttering a single sentence that was not a cliché," and he used these clichés as a mental defense mechanism to avoid thinking about what he was doing for the Nazi Party.[4]

Examples
  • The Lord works in mysterious ways. Stop thinking about facts or events that directly contradict your theology.
  • All's well that ends well. Don't think about the lessons learned and mistakes made.
  • You never know until you try. Please ignore that there might be compelling evidence that trying this would be a tremendous waste or present a dangerous risk.
  • You never succeed for not trying. It doesn't matter that you are fallible or that things might go wrong.
  • Do, or do not, there is no try. Conversely, don't bother to consider your own fallibility or that things might go wrong
  • Make of it what you will but… This evidence might lead to other conclusions, but only listen to mine.
  • …but that’s just what I make of it I might be following this evidence to the right conclusion(s), but you can still listen to your own
  • If you don't like it, don't buy it. Don't point out that I'm scamming people.
  • That's just your opinion. Don't worry about well-informed or different opinions, they're all equal. Implying all opinions are of equal value, suggesting that you shouldn't try to push your "opinion" on other people, but this is false when talking about factual matters.[5]
  • If you watched the whole thing, you can't say it's horrible.[6] It's not like having the whole context helps you form such an opinion.
  • Reacting with "This isn't new." or a dismissive "why are you surprised?" when there is news of corruption and scandals; real recurring problems are not worth addressing.
  • I'm just saying. when appended to any statement (written or spoken) to assert that you can't argue with it because it's someone's opinion or something. Whatever. Just sayin'.[7]
  • Read a book/Read theory/Do your own research. I am unable contribute meaningfully to the discussion, so I am shifting the burden of proof onto you instead of defending my claims.
gollark: Xenowyrm hunting is where it's at!
gollark: Madness.
gollark: You can probably trade it for a non-CB gold.
gollark: Great, just missed a Thunder...
gollark: Or golds?

See also

References
  1. Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'Brainwashing' in China' by Robert Jay Lifton (1963) W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393002217.
  2. The Ethics of Rhetoric by Richard Weaver (2015) Echo Point Books & Media. ISBN 1626541108.
  3. Charles Bufe, Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure?
  4. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil
  5. Thought-terminating clichés, qoume blog, Oct 14, 2020
  6. NetFlix twitter
  7. It's Rude! It's Crude! It's Stupid! Just Sayin', NPR, Dec 18, 2010
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