Cognitive dissonance

The related phenomena of causation, correlation, cognitive bias come together in the idea of congnitive dissonance - how one person can hold separate ideas in her head whose underlying values, premises and assumptions contradict each other.

You will be familiar with the experience of pitching an argument to someone who's invested in a competing idea. Any young atheist who's taken on a Christian fundamentalist - or vice versa - will know this feeling.same goes for Marxiss against capitalists, climate deniers and eco warriors,