Thought of the Day
Why are we so divisive? Division seems to be the paramount theme of society right now. Society is constantly asking you to pick a side. Our own circles of friends break apart due to irreconcilable differences of a philosophical nature. As the leading picture states, even not taking a side is a choice in and of itself.
I went to a book club today and since this was my first time there the group revisited their history. One of the key points they brought up was coming and goings of individuals over the years. Usually someone left because the group chose to read a book with controversial topics which subsequently led to heated discussions and eventually one or more people leaving the group never to return.
I am joining this book club because I want to be intellectually challenged. I don’t think you can challenge yourself intellectually if everyone in the circle thinks and acts exactly as you are thinking and acting. It becomes an echo chamber of stifled thought processes. For one to grow they have to be exposed to differing opinions.
In order to grow there must be a stimulus for growth. If you want to be physically strong you go to the gym and lift weights. You stress your body with an external stimulus to forces micro-tears of the muscle that then heal and react better the next time they are exposed to that stimuli. The concept should be applied to our faculty of reason or intellect.
Exposure to stimuli also requires a bit of intellectual maturity. This means that just because you don’t agree with someone else’s interpretation or opinion that doesn’t mean that it is inherently wrong or misguided. Keeping an open and charitable mind toward the views of others is where all the good stuff happens. That's where real growth and change occurs.
Instead, conversations in groups like this tend to lead toward the use of logical fallacies in an effort to prove that their position is superior. Emotion drives so much of what people do and say. Unfortunately, it creeps into the realm of critical thinking during exercises of an intellectual nature and can derail an otherwise great and beautiful thing.
It’s okay to have emotion. It’s okay to have a differing opinion. We need to respect that difference because that’s what makes us unique. I am not going to agree all the time but I will be charitable in my dialogue and take the high road when logical fallacies start popping up.
