Do you think today we are more narrow minded or open minded?

Question

Do you think as a whole people we should be more optimistic and less skeptical? Should we communicate more freely? Are we being stifled somehow? And how are we if you think we are? In what way can we make the difference for a change?

Answer 1

We are far more narrow-minded, as evidenced by the growing trend of strictly adhering to a naturalistic/scientific philosophy as a worldview while closing off metaphysical philsophies and doing so arbitrarily.

We ought to be more skeptical as well as more optimistic, I'm not sure why one would necessarily preclude the other.

We always ought to communicate more freely. I don't believe we are being stifled in our freedom to communicate, but we are stifled in how we do communicate. Again, trending towards a narrow worldview that all must ascribe to prior to engaging in discussion is anti-intellectual and contrary to the study of philosophy.

The best way to make a difference for change is to impose metaphysics upon peoples' educations. Our educational systems have been permitted to give "science", which is nothing more than a branch of philosophy we call "naturalism", carte blanche to educate our children and students as it sees fit, while never once providing these students with the framework within which scientific method and naturalism themselves are fit, and that framework is philosophy. Hence, we have a world today where philosophy is being taken over by scientific-minded people who in turn degrade philosophy as being nothing more than useless fancy, EXCEPT in that area of naturalism called scientific method, and all because these same usurpers have arbitrarily decided to impose their own chosen pre-suppositions upon the entire world by taking over philosophy in order to eradicate all of it BUT that which they want.

The few answers preceeding mine are proof positive that we are more narrow-minded, as you see zealots for the philosophy of naturalism referring to those who choose a metaphysical philosophy for their world view as "fundys" and implying or declaring these people to somehow be inherently "wrong", whereas the fact remains that philosophically they are no less wrong than any person who adopts a purely scientific worldview. In fact, those who accept metapyhsical philosophy and incorporate into their personal worldviews along with naturalist views are encapsulating a far more complete and robust worldview than those who narrow-mindedly and arbitrarily choose only to believe their senses, which, in fact, are not as trustworthy as they would have anyone else believe (hence the myriad discrepancies within science itself).

Answer 2

We're more open minded and I'll be darned if I let anyone convince me otherwise... I know I'm right and I won't listen to anyone tell me different!

In all seriousness we're generally pretty close minded. It seems that end up putting more and more time into protecting our ego which makes us more close minded. It also seems that even though we have lots of freedoms we tend to exercises very few of them. To make a change we need to stop fearing a bruised ego and communicate freely. We stifle ourselves and we can make the personal choice to be different.

Answer 3

Great question! Thanks for provoking thought!!

We claim we have become more open minded with scientific progress and exponential addition to our store of knowledge. A lot of things which were taboo in the old days are now accepted as a valid choice made by an individual ... for example, same sex partner, live-in arrangement etc.

I personally disagree with these claims. We have actually become narrow minded. We couldn't care less for the society at large in furthering our individual freedom. We couldn't care less for our children in ensuring our sex satiation. We couldn't care less how we got it as long as we got money..... in the process we may have deprived or even deceived others. If every individual in the society has become more selfish and self-serving today, even at the cost of the family, society, nation etc........is that open mindedness or narrow mindedness? We are systematically destroying (or at least diluting) every single value of the past that was evolved with the principle of sacrificing individual interests for the sake of the larger interests of the family, society or nation or the whole humanity in general. This, in my view, is a narrow minded as well as short term approach ...... the surface appearance of open mindedness is not only illusory, it is unwise as well.

Open mindedness is not as simple as rubbishing every restrictive moral or ethic or belief for the sake of improving individual freedom..... totally free individuals would be unfit for family, society, nation or the humanity at large and it is indeed narrow mindedness to promote such selfish freedom of individual!!

Answer 4

A little from column A and a little from collumn B. IN all honesty we are more opneminded in some things, but we have become more sloed monded in others. Unfortunate the things that we ahv e become closed minded in are things that we need to be more open about...otherwise we face a world of far more mental abberations from that repression than we have now.

Answer 5

open minded in the superficial way, narrow minded when it comes to the big issues.

Answer 6

Personally, I've considered all the options and am very open to being close-minded.

Answer 7

I think in general we are more open minded. But there are still some who are sooo narrow minded.

Answer 8

I think people are choosing to be narrow minded; if you claim to be a moderate, you tend to be derided as wishy-washy.

Answer 9

in general we are alot more open minded... because we are smarter.. but there is also now this huge division between people who like thinking, questioning, human advancement, and people who are desperately trying to live in a complete dream (religious people)

Answer 10

youre narrow minded.