Most people are indeed dogmatists who seem to have no genuine desire to know truth; what they want is consolation, not facts. I have reached the point where I can accurately guess a person's position on any given issue just by knowing their opinion on one issue. I used to avoid that kind of stereotyping, but experience has taught me that a lot of people out there really are nothing more than walking, talking stereotypes!
It may surprise you to read that I have, in the course of my life, identified myself as a Christian, a deist, an atheist, a Buddhist, a creationist, a darwinist, a neo-lamarckian, a libertarian, an anarcho-socialist, and a logical positivist. I've shed all those ideologies & adopted new ones in the mean time, but I think what really saved me from ever becoming a captive of my beliefs was that I never felt committed to any of those ideologies; all I have ever cared about is finding the truth & so when I saw the error in any belief I had adopted, I was able to discard it without feeling like I had 'betrayed my ideals'.
Though I think dogmatism & cynicism is ultimately a false dichotomy. Believing in something provisionally doesn't make you a chump. I'd rather believe in damn near anything than believe in nothing.
It's interesting that that lack of dogmatism can be read as a sign of enlightenment or of decadence. Either way, we tire of something when we become jaded and over-familiar with it. I suppose the question is whether we see through inferior things because our sights are still set on something superior or whether the world seems hollow because we've succumbed to cynicism and depression and see no value in anything.
If provisional belief is pragmatic, I think that's the essence of science, and science is hardly for chumps.
Most people are indeed dogmatists who seem to have no genuine desire to know truth; what they want is consolation, not facts. I have reached the point where I can accurately guess a person's position on any given issue just by knowing their opinion on one issue. I used to avoid that kind of stereotyping, but experience has taught me that a lot of people out there really are nothing more than walking, talking stereotypes!
ReplyDeleteIt may surprise you to read that I have, in the course of my life, identified myself as a Christian, a deist, an atheist, a Buddhist, a creationist, a darwinist, a neo-lamarckian, a libertarian, an anarcho-socialist, and a logical positivist. I've shed all those ideologies & adopted new ones in the mean time, but I think what really saved me from ever becoming a captive of my beliefs was that I never felt committed to any of those ideologies; all I have ever cared about is finding the truth & so when I saw the error in any belief I had adopted, I was able to discard it without feeling like I had 'betrayed my ideals'.
Though I think dogmatism & cynicism is ultimately a false dichotomy. Believing in something provisionally doesn't make you a chump. I'd rather believe in damn near anything than believe in nothing.
It's interesting that that lack of dogmatism can be read as a sign of enlightenment or of decadence. Either way, we tire of something when we become jaded and over-familiar with it. I suppose the question is whether we see through inferior things because our sights are still set on something superior or whether the world seems hollow because we've succumbed to cynicism and depression and see no value in anything.
DeleteIf provisional belief is pragmatic, I think that's the essence of science, and science is hardly for chumps.