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In the same sense that learning about cognitive biases can equip people to become even more entrenched in their own beliefs. Being able to claim that others are
by endominus 3y ago
In the same sense that learning about cognitive biases can equip people to become even more entrenched in their own beliefs. Being able to claim that others are falling prey to "confirmation bias" whenever confronted with evidence that conflicts with their own preconceptions does a lot to shore up the Semmelweiss reflex. It does make one think about how much education actually helps people think better; the simple heuristic of "more learning = better" doesn't seem to hold up to real scrutiny. I would hypothesize that some forms of pedagogy would instead calcify incorrect ideas in people's heads, and predicting which would do that is nontrivial considering we don't actually know much about why people learn in the first place.
- atoav 3y agoIf you are not interested in the truth, every theory becomes a weapon to hide it. This is why instead of teaching theories you have to teach the love of truth — coincidentally that is the meaning of the word philosophy.
- taylorius 3y agoI think it's hard to know whether you're interested in the truth. Even if you think you've scrupulously cleared away all the thickets of biases and prejudices, there are probably more still there, hiding in all the corners you've turned away from.
- jrumbut 3y agoIt's true that all of us have a lifetime of work to do in that area, but I think the grandparent posted is referring to the people who cling to and consciously nurture biases. Maybe my standards are too low but these days I'm excited to talk to anyone who even has a passing interest in truth for its own sake, no matter what the quality of their inquiry is.
- vixen99 3y agoIf you love truth you will know those hidden corners exist and be alert to emerging evidence of biases and prejudices. There is the story which I suppose is true, of the professor who sat through a lecture and understood that the work being described had demolished the basis for his own work of the last twenty years. Rather than despairing he stood up and congratulated the speaker on discovering a better theory.
- dr_dshiv 3y agoTruth =! Wisdom
- atoav 3y agoIt isn't (and nobsoy claimed it was), but if you A) know ethics B) have a love for the truth It is harder to use ethics to lie to yourself or others. Ethics are a tool that can be used to justify heinous behaviour, or to shine a light on how your daily choices could be made better, all depending on those wielding the tool.
- drdeca 3y agoThey said that because the word philosophy is from “love of wisdom”, not “love of truth”, as was claimed?
- dudeinjapan 3y ago=! != !=
- marginalia_nu 3y agoSocrates would have questions about this.
- jrumbut 3y agoNot to fall into exactly the trap that you set, but there is a survivorship bias at play here. If you are wholly committed to young earth creationism, many college classes will be an unpleasant confrontation from start to finish and very little of your existing knowledge will help you pass classes even if you want to play along. People who come to college with more mainstream ideas will have an easier time and be more likely to succeed. And it's not entirely surprising that graduates have a bit of a calcified worldview. If you read Marx without dropping out to join a revolution and were able to deal with a lot of compelling but conflicting arguments in whatever field you studied it's going to take quite a bit for you to radically change your mind.