What is wrong with absolutes? Is it an illusion to think in absolutes?Is this not a way to make oneself.......

Question

narrow or ignorant, by closing all things out, exept what one thinks is true?a kind of arrogance?

sorry for my bad english, not my mother tounge.

Answer 1

It is absolutely wrong.

Answer 2

There is nothing false about absolutes. There are those who say that thinking in absolutes is close-minded and ignorant. That is the most ignorant statement you'll ever hear.
They will tell you, "There are no absolutes." What, then, is that statement? It is saying that there are absolutely no absolutes. But that, in turn, makes the statement an absolute. And if that absolute exists, then what's to say that there aren't other absolutes? The belief collapses onto itself.
And to say that "absolutes aren't just arrogant, they're ignorant" is nothing but a lie. They will say that it closes you off to new ideas, but sometimes, that's just the way things have to go.
Death, for instance. It is absolutely certain that everyone will die and pass from this life someday. Isn't it absolute? If not, then you believe that only some people will die, while others will continue living forever in this one life. No one agrees with that.
There are absolutes, my friend. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Answer 3

Can one say absolutely that absolutes are bad, the way so many seem to be? That really only begs the question.

There are some absolutes which I doubt would be considered narrow or ignorant, such as condemning the following: "It is okay to kick baby's for fun," or another: "There is nothing wrong with setting puppies on fire for personal enjoyment". Condemning such acts as described as absolutely bad, evil, wrong, etc., can hardly be described as narrow.

On the other hand, absolutes, such as tautologies, are often wrought with problems. For example, "There is no such thing as true statements". Another example of where absolutes go wrong, "We shouldn't judge other culture's moral conceptions because all moral concepts are culturally relative." Both of these result in a contradiction, and are quite arguably part and parcel of the ignorance you suggested in your question. There are perhaps a couple of caveats that should be brought up here as concerns epistemological worries, but I think that escapes the scope of the question at the moment.

Anyhow, we should be careful in becoming absolute proponents or opponents of absolutes. Sometimes anything less than an absolute, as in the first examples, is both deplorable and itself a product of ignorance. In the second round of examples, I think it clear that absolutes are at times the product of narrow mindedness or ignorance.

Answer 4

You have to make decisions about certain things, such as what kind of person you are going to be, what you believe is right and wrong. Some things have to be absolutes or you will be forever changing your mind until you don't have a mind of your own. At the same time you can't be closed minded either. Only you can decide what you believe. Keep learning for the rest of your life. You won't live long enough to know all you need to know to live a good life, that's why you need to keep getting more information.

Answer 5

The learned ego loves absolutes because belief in them originates during the development of our defensive, survival thought system. Giving them up is the only way to be "absolutely certain" about anything. Absolute knowledge is the opposite of "believing" absolutely - which is powerful but disastrous. Any 'belief' controls our perception of reality and prevents us from returning to the "Absolute." (Read "Absolute (Philosophy) in Wikipedia for further info)

Answer 6

The absolute contains the infinite. People are ignorant because they do not understand the absolute, and only choose to believe in a small part of the infinite.

Answer 7

It is an illusion to NOT think in absolutes.

To have no absolutes is to have no convictions and not be certain of anything.

If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.

I would have more confidence in a man certain of his convictions than in a man uncertain of anything.

A man who is absolute in his stance will fight for what he believes in. A man with no convictions who is uncertain and double-minded will betray you and leave you in the heat of battle.

Answer 8

Absolutes leave no room for new information. It's more than arrogance, it's ignorance.

Answer 9

Modernity has feared absolutes since its inception because of their potential to curtial one's claims to freedom and will to power.

Answer 10

Your question is slightly confusing to me, but why would one
want to think something that is false. Is unreliable information
not worth knowing? I think it is worth knowing unreliable
information. However, I don't think it is worth using unreliable
information. There is a distinct difference between knowing
and implementing.

Answer 11

absolutes are required in certain situations, like building a house in a certain terrain, when it comes to understanding yourself it seems to cause all sorts of problems.