2006-09-16 09:02:01 · 28 answers · asked by grandwalloper 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
lol. I'm a teacher. that is a question that I ask myself every day. well, almost every day.
The problem is not simply getting people to think, it is getting them to understand the difference between thinking and simply regurgitating widely accepted views. Oftentimes people think that they are thinking but in fact they are just repeating what they have heard over and over again.
The only way to fix this is through education. We need to emphasize critical and analytical faculties. When someone says something, that something has to be analyzed from a variety of perspectives. First on its internal logic, but also in terms of the motivation of the speaker, the intended audience, the context in which it was made, the tradition of thought out of which it emerged.
but unfortunately the US does not take primary and secondary level education seriously enough to really institute that sort of reform. there are some very good teachers out there, but most of them are doing it altruistically. a lot of well-educated and dedicated teachers would love to work in secondary and primary education but for the fact that it is impossible to support a family on the pay.
but that is another issue altogether.
2006-09-16 10:46:31 · answer #1 · answered by homersdohnut 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can not change a person's believe, everyone has the right to think. If people believed less the world wouldn't be what it is today.
Even though we don't all share the same believes. We still all learn from each other.
2006-09-16 16:22:53 · answer #2 · answered by Lscesq 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be a bit egotistical to think that people as a whole are not thinking and being led to believe things.
All people think, some are impulsive and some think things to death but all people think. Now what is the true motive behind your question?
For anything in this world to happen someone must of believed first. If we go on your premise then the Wright Brothers would have thought themselves out of believing they could make a ton of metal fly through the sky. If we go on your premise then Bill Gates would have thought himself out of believing he could make a computer so that every house hold could have one.
I am thinking more and I think that what this world needs is people who believe more!
2006-09-16 16:14:28 · answer #3 · answered by freemansfox 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't have a good answer but I really like your question. I think about this a lot - no joking intended. Simply believing has always been very difficult for me. Answers seem to bring up more question than certainty. I am puzzled and somewhat envious of people who simply believe in something without reservation. They say they believe because they know but that doesn't work for me. I find it stimulating to be around people who question and explore; who live with a mentality of "what if" and "I just don't know but isn't it curious...". I heard someone say recently that both a theologian and a scientist is best served by "I don't know." I'll check back with you to see what kind of answers you get.
PS: I'll be curious to see how many people "get mad at you" for this question, too.
2006-09-16 16:14:16 · answer #4 · answered by Siri 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Before people stop believing and take a step back from it all, to really start thinking objectively they have to become aware that they have cetain patterns of thought. Some are innate, others are cultural. Some we can get rid of, some we can only become aware of.
For example we can stop assuming that all people who don;t agree with us are wrong, but we can't stop thinking within the constraints of time.
2006-09-16 16:10:59 · answer #5 · answered by nlj1520 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well I don't know about "believe less" but I'd certainly be in favour of "think more" (or, in some cases think at all).
I would like to see philosophy put on the school curriculum to give everbody the intellectual tools to think critically about the things in their life and their intereaction with others.
2006-09-16 16:25:46 · answer #6 · answered by anthonypaullloyd 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You cant get people to start doing this unless you implant a computer chip in to there brains, or brainwash them to do so. Its called Free will of thinking and believing. People can think what they choose and Believe in what they want to. You cannot make People do this by forceing them, if you do it will cause a major society breakdown.
2006-09-16 16:14:34 · answer #7 · answered by ladyrebel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought that education was the means of getting people to think more. Certainly education teaches people to believe in things that are rational. Is it a contradiction? Do uneducated people actually believe in MORE things? I don't think so, somehow.
2006-09-16 16:19:32 · answer #8 · answered by Les 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the people who cannot think who believe more because it saves them the trouble of thinking. Those who can think do not believe unless they get confirmation to their line of thought
2006-09-19 04:08:09 · answer #9 · answered by Brahmanda 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It surely must depend on what you believe, how strongly and what your thinking of doing with your beliefs.
If your born into beliefs handed down the generations and are taught nothing else or have freedom of choice, your up against it.
2006-09-17 15:42:41 · answer #10 · answered by Stengi 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋