Logical dishonouring (Brainwashing)

The first step in re-education, when the individual learns to see his whole previous life as a series of shameful acts not only in their opposition to the way of thought in which he is being trained but also to the very principles he then held dear. The negative parts of his identity which he previously de-emphasized are now given such emphasis that they swamp the positive aspects of the personality he once was. Profound shame and guilt are experienced as he confronts his human limitations. This existential guilt is used by his reformers to attack the basic meaning of his life, assisted by the intimate knowledge they have built up on him. His very vulnerability speeds the growth of a new personality.

A stage reached in thought reform, a system of organized, deliberate and total psychological training which effects individual change through two basic elements – confession (renouncing of past beliefs and attitudes) and re-education (remaking of the individual in the required image).