We can also call this fallacy the Stupidity of All-Out Vindication, which is the need to prove to our critics and detractors that we are justified in our beliefs and actions by any means necessary.
Imagine for example an insanely jealous boyfriend who obsesses over the belief that his girlfriend is cheating on him all the time. He invests enormous amounts of anguish and energy deluding himself that his girlfriend is committing acts of infidelity. Eventually, this boyfriend WANTS his girlfriend to cheat on him so that he can say to himself that he is not insane in his obsession and hurt feelings.
This is the essence of All-Out Vindication. We actually desire an undesirable outcome if it “proves” we are “right.”
Another example: A hypochondriac feels stomach pain and is convinced something is deathly wrong with him. After being ridiculed by family and friends for his hypochondriac ways, he is “happy” when it turns out, with the stamp of medical authority, that the soreness in his stomach evidences a terminal disease.
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