A combination of psychological literature and an
honest appraisal of our inner self make it pretty clear that we don’t easily
think things through with careful consideration, using rigorous logical and
empirical analysis as tools to arrive at our views and then respond with the
appropriate behaviour. We actually become driven by our emotional needs and
utilitarian enticements in establishing what we want to believe, and then we
employ the confirmation bias in looking to justify those beliefs. That is, we put
the cart of incentives before the horse of truthseeking and the reins of reason, when
it should be the other way around.
That doesn’t mean this method is always wrong; emotions and will are great signposts towards many profound discovered truths and artistic expressions, and should not be gainsaid or trivialised complacently. But with matters involving complex considerations, dynamical reasoning and important facts, then this cart-before-the-horse tendency is a malady on the human condition.
In a world which seems to have gone a bit mad, and
is overrun with climate loonies, the triggered wokerati, snowflakes, extreme
political ideologues (both left and right), religious crackpots, conspiracy
theorists and journalistic snake oil salespeople, here’s what you should do to
check if you’re on the right side of the empirical propositions in question.
Make a list of the political, religious, socio-cultural, economic and
scientific beliefs that are important to you, and rank them regarding how
certain you feel about your position on them. Then take all the ones you feel less certain about,
and even have inner doubts about (don’t worry, you’ll know which ones they are
– your gut will tell you and it won’t lie to you).
And then take each one and
search yourself inwardly, with as much honesty as you can summon, to distil how
these beliefs make you feel. What do those views do to you when no one is
looking; do they make you feel strong or weak, proud or ashamed, comfortable or
uncomfortable, confident or doubtful? This authenticity is what you need to be
measuring. You’ll ask yourself; am I really giving this my best shot? Have I
really got a good grasp of the situation? Am I being overly-simplistic? Have I
given this the proper investigation or just been too easily convinced by
someone else? And if the latter, what do I think of those people – do I really
trust them, and do I think their motives are good?
There’s not a person who can fail to benefit from this examination, and it’s just about certain that if you do this with a passion for knowing the truth, and are prepared for the full consequences of the adventure and journey on which you’ll find yourself, you will be greatly enriched.
