Our current age is one riddled with several apparent contradictions and paradoxes.
Despite access to an almost unlimited flow of information, we are less certain of what is true. Further, we have a more difficult time in discerning fact from fiction, and rarely look to sources outside of our narrow ‘information ecosystems’.
The Enlightenment and the rise of objective scientific inquiry was supposed to rid us of superstition and group think. It promised to place reason at the bedrock of society and ensure that rationality and logic would be the basis for decision making.
So where did we go wrong, and why are we currently faced with so much polarization and division unable to come to a consensus on the most basic of facts?
Rather than exercising our freedom to think independently, we are moving closer and closer towards conformity and dogmatic thinking. As more issues become politicized, society sorts into its respective teams or ideologies insisting that those who don’t agree with us on certain issues are either blindly naïve or ignorant. It is the mentality that you are either with us or against us.
Yet, we are all exhausted by all the outrage and constant bickering of who is right or wrong on contentious issues.
Can’t we all just get along, be kind and give each other a hug (well maybe after the pandemic)?
This series of articles will focus on the following themes, exploring how:
We aren’t as ‘rational’ as we think, and we rarely can get someone to change their view with a more logical or coherent argument. Emotion has the upper hand in our thinking and Haidt’s metaphor of the elephant and the rider is a good example the fight between reason vs emotion.
We all share the same moral foundations, but differ in which morals and values we prioritize (Moral Foundations Theory).
Evolution can explain our tendency to sort into groups or teams. As Haidt puts it, morality binds and blinds.
We can restore good faith dialogue and compromise. The key is transcending the strict dichotomy of black\white or good\evil type thinking and being able understand the wisdom and truth found in many different positions or perspectives.
Hopefully this series will convince you to look critically at your own opinions, and look to others who share different views with a bit more kindness and understanding.
Real dialogue is when two or more people become willing to suspend their certainty in each other’s presence.
It is exciting to see communities emerging like The Stoa who facilitate dialogues with a wide range of unique thinkers and practitioners trying to make sense of an increasingly complex world.
A World in Peril
We live in strange times.
Very strange times.
There is a general skepticism, made particularly salient during the COVID-19 pandemic, that our social, economic and political institutions are not well suited to deal with many of the issues that we face in the 21st century.
Some have questioned if the current path we are on as a society is desirable or even sustainable.
Do we have the right ‘tool kit’ and systems in place to deal with the many global problems and existential threats we face?
In a highly competitive globalized environment that prioritizes status and consumption, short-term thinking takes precedence. We lose sight of the consequences of our actions that extend past our limited horizon.
These issues are compounded by our broken information ecosystem in which it is getting more and more difficult to have consensus on basic facts. Reality thus becomes filtered down to us through politicized news media or our personalized social media feeds.
We are forced to ask, who is truly looking out for our best interests?
The Need for Philosophy in the Modern Age
In times of deep uncertainty, philosophical inquiry can be used to help us understand some of the problems we face as a society more deeply.
It may not provide concrete solutions or answers, but it does force us to slow down and think.
Ideas matter. They are like the glasses we wear to interpret the world around us.
This is why critical thinking is so important. In an age of information overload and false information, we can turn to the ancient wisdom of Socrates.
Socrates famously said “I know one thing – that I know nothing.” This idea, coined as Socratic ignorance, helps us resist the temptation to jump to conclusions or conform to the popular beliefs of the time. Socrates asks us to rigorously question and examine our beliefs, compare and contrast different viewpoints and engage in honest good faith dialogue with others.
This is how we find truth and cultivate wisdom.
The American sociologist and education scholar Peter W. Cookson Jr. argues that this type of multidimensional and critical thinking is needed to address many of the interconnected crises we face in the 21st century. He notes that our education systems should be transformed to promote interdisciplinary learning rather than teaching subjects in rigid silos or compartments. The industrial education model of memorization, conformity and standardized testing in no longer sufficient for the modern era.
Rather flexibility, creativity and the ability to look at problems from multiple different angles should be prioritized. In sum, we need to learn how to navigate through complexity.
As the challenges facing the globe become increasingly complex, our frames of reference must be flexible, expansive, and adaptive …
By looking at a challenge from multiple points of view, we are more likely to arrive at a realistic, effective solution.
What Would Socrates Say? Peter W. Cookson Jr. , Educational Leadership
The Role of the Individual and the Need to Look Inward
The future ahead may seem daunting.
We may be inclined to cling our existing beliefs, support a certain political ideology or be attached to our personal grand narrative of how society must change.
Technical or political solutions may be necessary, but we should first do our own homework. Look inwards and take ownership and responsibility of our lives first. Examine your own beliefs and biases, and prioritize the truth rather than the desire to be ‘right’.
As the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire noted, we must first “cultivate one’s own garden.”
Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one’s heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig
Going forward in this next year in the blog, I hope to continue to explore how philosophy can be a useful tool in fostering critical self-reflection and helping us make sense of a seemingly chaotic world.
I aspire to work towards the virtue of humility, to be open to new ideas and perspectives. To be able to examine my own belief systems and change my mind on an issue if the evidence requires me to do so.
Thank all for following the blog, and I hope you’ve been enjoying the content.
Here’s to another year of writing and philosophical inquiry.
A Life of Virtue: Philosophy as a Way of Life 