Plausibility Structures

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published June 1, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

People who face an environment hostile to what they believe will “plausibility structures,” an organization, group of people, environment, information source, or something similar that tells him his belief is plausible¹. Certainly we all gravitate toward social groups, movies, news sources, and other “structures” that reinforce our thoughts about the world.

These tendencies often become both a cause and an effect of our values and beliefs. The question is how purposeful we will be in building our plausibility structures?

Character First! is rooted in the belief that there are right and wrong decisions. Your use of this website and related resources can be part of a plausibility structure of good character. You can use these resources purposefully in your organization or family to reinforce the belief that character is the way the world works.

• Do you try to apply character to your life because someone tells you to, or because you are personally motivated to?
• Have you found a historical character with whom you can identify in your ongoing effort to develop integrity?
• What is your purpose in accessing the Members’ Library? Do you have ideas for using these values to help those around you? The Key Concepts often involve our relationships with others.

Reference:

¹Nepstad, S. (2004). Persistent resistance: Commitment and community in the ploughshares movement. Social Problems, 51(1), p.43-60.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.