The Intent Hexalogy Part 2: The Relationship Between Intent and Bias

Subtitle
How much should a person trust their own intentions?

In this hexalogy, I treat intent not merely as psychology, but as the structure through which humans choose their direction toward the world.

In the first part, I consider the definition of intent,
in the second, its distortions,
in the third, its relationship with memory,
in the fourth, its relationship with values,
in the fifth, its cycle with action,
and in the final part, I consider its expansion into human history.

Introduction

People think they understand their own intentions.

Why did I say that?
Why did I do that?
Why did I stay silent?
Why did I approach?
Why did I walk away?

We feel we can explain the reasons ourselves.

But is that really true?

Human action always has an intent.
However, that intent is not always transparent.

I thought it was kindness.
But perhaps I just wanted to be needed by the other person.

I thought it was righteousness.
But perhaps I was just projecting my own anxiety onto them.

I thought it was a calm judgment.
But perhaps I was just being pulled by past wounds or assumptions.

Herein lies the relationship between intent and bias.

Bias is not merely a mistake.
It is a force that tilts the direction of our thoughts and judgments without us realizing it.

And intent is born within that tilted world.

That is why people should not trust their own intentions too much.

What is bias?

Bias is the skew that occurs when we see, judge, or assign meaning to things.

People do not see the world exactly as it is.

Past experiences.
The environment in which we were raised.
Knowledge.
Fear.
Expectations.
Values.
Human relationships.
Wounded memories.
Success experiences.
Failure experiences.

We see the world through these.

In other words, people do not see naked reality.
We see reality through the habits of interpretation within ourselves.

Those habits skew in a certain direction.
That is bias.

Bias is not necessarily malicious.
Rather, in many cases, it is necessary for humans to make quick judgments.

If we had to think about everything from scratch every time, we could decide nothing.
That is why the brain uses past patterns.

This is dangerous.
This is safe.
This person is trustworthy.
It is better to stay silent in this situation.
This is relevant to me.
This can be ignored.

That is how people process the world.

However, that convenient processing simultaneously creates misunderstandings.

We think we are seeing, but we only see what we want to see.
We think we are thinking, but we are tracing past conclusions.
We think we are choosing, but we are moving in a direction that was already decided.

Herein lies the terror of bias.

Intent cannot stand outside of bias

Intent is the orientation behind an action.

What do I want to do?
What do I want to protect?
What do I want to avoid?
What do I want to convey?
What do I want to gain?
What do I not want to lose?

That orientation is intent.

However, that intent is not born in a vacuum.

Intent is born from past experiences, values, and emotions.
In other words, intent is influenced by bias from the very beginning.

For example, there is an intent to help someone.

At first glance, that looks like a good thing.

But beneath it lie many possibilities.

Do I really want to help the other person?
Do I want to be thanked by them?
Do I want to be the person who helps?
Can I not forgive myself if I abandon them?
Am I projecting someone I couldn't help in the past onto the current person?

This difference is significant.

Even if the action is the same 'helping,' different forces are at work inside the intent.

And many of those forces are not consciously recognized.

That is why, when people explain their intentions, they often create a story after the fact.

I was right.
I had good intentions.
I was thinking of the other person.
I had no choice but to do that.
I was not at fault.

That is not necessarily a lie.

However, it is not necessarily the complete truth either.

Self-justification bias

One of the biases most deeply involved in intent is self-justification.

People are poor at admitting that their actions were wrong.

This is because admitting a mistake feels like it damages one's own judgment or character.

That is why people provide reasons for their actions.

That couldn't be helped.
The other person was also at fault.
Anyone would have done that in that situation.
I was actually being patient.
That was for the other person's sake.

In this way, people neatly tidy up their intentions.

However, sometimes the truth is different.

Renaming anger as justice.
Renaming control as concern.
Renaming obsession as love.
Renaming avoidance as kindness.
Renaming indifference as a mature response.

At this point, the intent has been rewritten by bias.

To protect their actions, people even remake their own intentions.

Confirmation bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to collect only information that supports what one wants to believe.

This also strongly influences intent.

For example, suppose you decide that a certain person is 'untrustworthy'.

Then, even that person's small silences look suspicious.
A slow reply looks insincere.
Even casual words sound like they have a hidden meaning.

Conversely, suppose you think a certain person is a 'good person'.

Then, even their sloppy handling looks like they were just busy.
Even rude words look like they were just clumsy.
Even if they break a promise, you can think they had their reasons.

People think they are judging after seeing, but in reality, they sometimes see after judging.

The conclusion comes first.
We interpret the other person's actions to fit that conclusion.

At this point, our own intentions are also distorted.

We think we are trying to understand the other person, but in reality, we are trying to protect our own conclusion.
We think we are doubting the other person, but in reality, we are reconfirming past wounds.
We think we are trusting the other person, but in reality, we are trying not to see what we don't want to see.

Confirmation bias separates intent from reality.

Expectations create intent

People sometimes act based on expectations rather than reality itself.

I want it to be like this.
I want them to say this.
I want them to reply like this.
I want them to understand like this.
I want them to treat me like this.

When those expectations become strong, people cannot wait for reality.

We read the answer before the other person has said anything.
We prepare to be betrayed before the other person has done anything.
We feel rejected before the other person has rejected us.
We assume they will respond before they have responded.

In this way, expectations create intent.

We approach because of expectations.
We test because of expectations.
We get angry because of expectations.
We stay silent because of expectations.
We get hurt because of expectations.

At this point, people easily think their intentions are pure.

I just wanted to confirm.
I just wanted to know their feelings.
I just wanted to talk.
I just wanted to cherish them.

However, beneath that lies expectation.

Expectation is not evil.
However, if you turn it into intent without being aware of the expectation, you place a burden on the other person.

This is because if the other person does not act according to your expectations, you feel as if you have been betrayed.

Cognitive dissonance and the revision of intent

People feel uncomfortable when their beliefs and actions contradict each other.

I want to be a kind person.
But I hurt someone.

I want to be sincere.
But I ran away from something inconvenient.

I want to respect freedom.
But I tried to bind the other person.

I want to be calm.
But I reacted emotionally.

This contradiction is painful.

That is why people revise their intentions to reduce that pain.

I didn't hurt them; I just said what was necessary.
I didn't run away; I just kept my distance.
I didn't bind them; I was just worried.
I wasn't being emotional; it was justified anger.

In this way, intent is tidied up after the fact.

People sometimes remake their intentions to match their actions.

This is where it gets difficult.

When people talk about their intentions, they are not necessarily talking about their true motives from the past.
They are sometimes talking about intentions that have been edited into a form that the current self can tolerate.

Bias is not the enemy of intent

However, bias cannot be completely eliminated.

In the first place, humans cannot see the world without bias.

Where do we direct our attention?
What do we think is important?
Which memories do we reference?
Whose words do we believe?
What do we feel is dangerous?

All of these already have bias.

Therefore, bias is not so much the enemy of intent as it is the environment in which intent is born.

The problem is not that bias exists.

The problem is assuming that you have no bias.

I am objective.
I am calm.
I am seeing things correctly.
I am thinking of the other person.

When this conviction becomes strong, people become most dangerous.

This is because they become unable to doubt their own biases.

What is necessary to refine intent

Refining intent does not mean speaking beautifully about your intentions.

Rather, it means seeing what is mixed into your intentions.

Is there fear there?
Is there a desire for control there?
Is there a desire for approval there?
Are there past wounds there?
Are you projecting expectations onto the other person there?
Is there a feeling of wanting to justify yourself there?

Holding this question is the first step to refining intent.

And another important thing is the perspective of others.

If you only think within yourself, your intent will be tidied up in a way that is convenient for you.

Therefore, sometimes you need a sense of discomfort from others.

Is that really for the other person's sake?
Couldn't you have left that unsaid?
Is that not concern, but management?
Is that not kindness, but avoidance?
Is that not love, but obsession?

Such questions are painful.

However, sometimes it is only through painful questions that you can notice the muddiness of your own intentions.

Metacognition is the power to doubt one's own intentions

Metacognition is the ability to view one's own thoughts from a step outside.

It is not just thinking.
It is watching yourself think.

It is not just feeling.
It is watching yourself feel.

It is not just intending.
It is watching yourself intend.

Without this distance, people are swallowed by their own intentions.

When angry, people easily mistake their anger for justice.
When anxious, people easily mistake their need for confirmation for sincerity.
When lonely, people easily mistake their approach for love.
When tired, people easily mistake their rejection for a calm judgment.

Therefore, handling intention requires distance.

What do I want to do right now?
Why is that?
Is the reason truly for the other person's sake?
Or is it just to process my own anxiety?
What will remain with the other person after this action?

This question slightly adjusts intentions distorted by bias.

Conclusion

Intention and bias are inseparable.

People cannot intend from a place without bias.

Past experiences.
Values.
Fear.
Expectations.
Wounds.
Desires.
Relationship history.
Social atmosphere.

All of these shape the direction of intention.

Therefore, people do not fully know their own intentions.

What one thought was kindness may contain control.
What one thought was justice may contain anger.
What one thought was love may contain attachment.
What one thought was calmness may contain fear.

Even so, there is meaning in questioning intention.

One cannot become completely transparent.
However, one can see the cloudiness a little bit.

The sincerity humans are capable of is not becoming a person without bias.

It is to continue questioning one's own intentions while acknowledging that one also has biases.

What do I desire?
What am I afraid of?
What am I trying to protect?
What am I trying to make the other person carry?

When this question is lost, intention is swallowed by bias.

And as long as one continues to hold this question, one can at least avoid absolutizing one's own intentions.

Intention is not just something inside.
It is the direction of the heart as it moves toward the world, while still carrying its biases.

That is precisely why you should not trust your own intentions too much.
However, there is no need to doubt them so much that you become unable to act.

What is important is to keep watching the direction within yourself.

Is that direction illuminating someone?
Or is it pushing someone into a place convenient for you?

Thinking about the relationship between intention and bias is, in the end, accepting the precariousness of one's own intentions.

Related Articles

What is Intention

The Relationship Between Intention and Memory

The Relationship Between Intention and Values

The Relationship Between Intention and Action

Human History Beginning with Intention

"The Lens of Bias: What Distorts and Constructs the World"