"There were some people in this world with no discernment. It wasn't that their judgment was poor; they simply had none. They had no standard by which to evaluate anything, couldn't tell whether most things were good or bad, and especially couldn't tell whether they liked something themselves. It was difficult to hear them express genuine praise or rejection toward anything."
"Many people believed they were merely reserved and reluctant to pass judgment. They assumed these people had opinions deep down, but simply didn't wish to voice them."
"But that wasn't the case. Some people lost the ability to judge their own preferences. It was a sign that their sense of self had been excessively interfered with."
"During every stage of building their identity, or throughout their past, their choices had always been questioned and scorned. The positive feedback of making a choice and gaining something from it had been completely suppressed by the negative feedback of criticism and doubt. This made the act of choosing itself painful for them."
"As positive feedback was gradually weakened, they could no longer feel the happiness and reassurance that came from choosing something they liked. Over time, liking simply ceased to exist."
"Their preferences gradually began to depend on the judgment of others or the public. Perhaps someone would say something was good, and they would think they liked it; or most people would say something was good, and they would feel that it truly was."
"And if they obtained that thing, they would usually convince themselves through suggestion that it was indeed good. If it genuinely caused them trouble, they would first doubt themselves."
"Recovering one's own discernment was a long process. A psychiatrist needed to guide the patient into making decisions over and over, uncover the subtle emotions attached to each