What term describes the condition of holding two contradictory views simultaneously?

The term that accurately describes the condition of holding two contradictory views simultaneously is cognitive dissonance. This psychological phenomenon occurs when an individual experiences discomfort or tension due to conflicting beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. For instance, a person might understand the detrimental effects of smoking while also being a smoker, leading to an internal struggle between their knowledge and their actions. This tension often motivates individuals to find a way to resolve the contradiction, which could involve changing one of the conflicting beliefs or rationalizing their behavior.

In contrast, confirmation bias refers to the tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs rather than seeking out or giving equal weight to evidence that could challenge those beliefs. Parallel thinking is a collaborative reasoning process that seeks to evaluate multiple perspectives rather than holding contradictory views, and deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises provided. Each of these terms describes different cognitive processes and does not capture the essence of experiencing conflicting thoughts as cognitive dissonance does.