Why are we reluctant to things?
The adjective reluctant indicates dislike. It is used to express that something produces a feeling of rejection or dissatisfaction for some reason.
Etymologically it comes from the Latin reactum and its verb form is to react. As for synonymous words, there are several: opposite, reticent, adverse and others.
Contexts of application of the term
The contexts in which it is possible to use this word are very diverse: in relation to personal tastes, beliefs or professional evaluations. In any case, being averse to something reveals a clear opposition to what is disapproved of.
When saying that someone is reluctant to something, it is not something momentary but his opposition is permanent. Consider, for example, that a person does not like to fly. Thus, he is reluctant to travel by plane and his posture does not usually change over time. With some frequency the rejection of something is manifested with some complementary adverbial form (totally reluctant, very reluctant or others), indicating in this way that the dislike is deep and absolute.
An expression of resistance
Being reluctant to an issue implies a certain resistance. In this sense, when stating "I am reluctant to X" an idea is highlighted: that preferably something is not desired but this refusal has, logically, a graduation (moderate, firm or radical).
Apparently there can be multiple reasons, although these can be classified into different groups:
- Subjective motives. We do not always have good reasons that drive us to reject something.
- Objective causes. If something hurts us, we have a concrete cause to show rejection of it.
- Being reluctant does not always mean that something is unpleasant to us. Sometimes we say that we do not want something because we like it too much but we know that it is harmful in a certain way.
- Ideological convictions or religious beliefs they push us not to accept opposite positions.
- Fashion or social pressure influence the assessments we make. This circumstance is quite common, since we say yes or no because we are influenced by advertising or established ideas. In fact, there are ideas that are widely accepted (the politically correct ones) and opposing them is difficult because there is a favorable tendency to accept them. In other words, it is not easy to be averse to political correctness.
