As an old hippy and, I hope, a sometimes rational thinker, how do I convince people that questioning authority is a good idea, as long as they LISTEN to the answer! Or that they also need to question the conspiracy theorists, the alien abductees, and the bigfoot sighters?
Is there away to teach skepticism in casual conversation, or is it a lost cause?
2006-07-01 07:14:03 · 10 answers · asked by LazlaHollyfeld 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Just wanted to take this opportunity to than DjDiv for his kind, intelligent and thoughtful answer.
2006-07-01 10:24:02 · update #1
Hey, it's cool to make people want to think at all! Being a little skeptical is a good thing, and not the same as being cynical & jaded. If you imagine that each person with whom you speak has a button in the middle of their forehead which says 'What's In It For Me', and then can find a way to press that button, you will find that people are better able to hear you. ;-)
OR to put it less cynically, if you can appeal to each persons desire for enlightened self intrest, you will have good results. Go for it!
2006-07-01 07:24:13 · answer #1 · answered by roscoedeadbeat 7 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Everyone is a skeptic. But to different extents. The thing is that being a skeptic and accepting uncertainty/challenging the norm are great challenges. If you can help people have the strength to do these then you are on your way. Personally, I think the big obstacle is that people live their life with the goal of having life be easy... this is horrible! What about deeper understanding, or finding spiritual enlightenment, or helping other people?? The majority of people live for the easy, they avoid challenges and do things simply because they are easy. That makes it difficult to challenge the accepted ideas.
For example, I challenge everything I can think of as a scientist, and it pisses off a lot of my friends and family. They are starting to appreciate it now since its starting to pay off but they were so mad to have a little bit of "inconvenience."
Its much easier to accept what people tell you, avoid the details, and follow the norm. The other difficult part is that people are convinced they are questioning authority on a daily basis by media and other forces.
2006-07-01 14:35:02 · answer #2 · answered by Richardicus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell them its good to be patriotic and make sure the gov't is following the law and not just doing whats best for them.
Its not a lost cause Libertarians are full of skeptics. Republicans are kind of off and on skeptics but do watch the govt. Democrats just want the govt to be a big fuzzy blanket they never have to think about.
2006-07-01 14:19:51 · answer #3 · answered by Lupin IV 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As an ancient hippy--you can't covince anybody who doesn't already lean in that direction...it's one of the great truths about humans...we are never gonna all agree even on the most basic of common sense ideals....you can always find someone who swears that water ain't wet....I think if enuff people who believe in fairness and justice would only agree to stand together ,there should be a majority of us to take over the planet and name it planet josh!!...sorry ....lost mt train-o-thought....where's my bong?..jb
2006-07-01 19:49:33 · answer #4 · answered by joshua zackary b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of people don't seem to practice critical thinking, and even those of us who think we do too often go with our own prejudices. The best you can do is try to model rational thought processes in conversation, and ask gently pointed questions when confronted with nonsense.
2006-07-01 14:36:49 · answer #5 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people seem to be hopelessly brainwashed already. Unless you can control the media, it's pretty much over. Small children might be easy to influence. Drop hints is my best advice. I think people's ability to question things lies completely with them and their perspective on things though.
2006-07-01 17:11:05 · answer #6 · answered by vintagex50s 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I still live by many of the credos of the late sixties. My brother calls me an iconoclast. My response to him is "how can I 'clast' the icons if I don't recognize them to begin with?"
My own mother taught us to respect authority (with the underlying meaning that they are the knowledgeable ones). We educated her out of that!
2006-07-01 14:21:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe it is a lost cause with most people.
2006-07-01 14:17:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
where are you? I'm reporting you to the brownshirts!!! they'll tell you who to listen to!!
2006-07-01 14:19:19 · answer #9 · answered by b 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You'd have to study that one.
2006-07-01 17:09:35 · answer #10 · answered by Balthor 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋