Being wrong, Learning to Listen, and Keeping an Open Mind

I once took a science class alongside a religious fundamentalist. We had to form lab groups and I ended up working quite closely with her. As a result of this paring, I noticed that she would complain about the curriculum very often. Apparently, it conflicted with her beliefs. She did the work that was necessary to pass the class but she never even considered the information that was presented to her (I know this because she told me). She closed her mind to the material. She shunned it as though it was some pathogen. She treated it with fear and suspicion. Ultimately, she completed the class while managing to not learn anything at all. I am not here to bash religious people. I know that my former lab partner is not representative of that vast and diverse community. She is, however, representative of a phenomenon that effects a much broader swath of the human population. We have a tendency to avoid anything that conflicts with our world view. If we are not careful, we can start treating opposing ideas like some bitter and viscus poison but this is not a beneficial way to approach the world. We are not always right. I know that I have been and, doubtlessly, continue to be wrong about all sorts of stuff. When we start shutting ourselves off to new and conflicting ideas, we stunt our ability to grow as individuals. When we hide from knowledge to protect our beliefs (whatever they may be), we oppress ourselves through self-imposed ignorance. A closed mind is perfect prey for those who would exploit us. When we let our fear of being wrong drive us away from what is new or different, we miss out on all manner of meaningful, valuable, or enriching experiences. The solution, fortunately, is relatively simple. We need only to change the way we approach opposing ideas. If we can understand that listening does not necessitate believing but also accept that listening may cause a change in our beliefs, we will free ourselves from the self imposed bonds of a closed mind.

Pride likely served a purpose for our survival at a point in our history but it also drives some of us to shut our minds and avoid new and different ideas. It seems to stand to reason that our sense of pride might have been an asset to us in the distant past. It could have driven our ancient ancestors to be better hunters, which meant more food for them and their offspring. It may have caused our progenitors to drive away competition for mates, which gave their genetics a better chance of being passed on to another generation. This emotion, however, doesn't account for more abstract concepts than these. Being wrong about some idea hurts as badly as returning from the hunt without food. Having to accept a fault in our thought stings as badly as being rejected by a potential lover. This is not a trivial sensation and it is not surprising that many people go to great lengths, both consciously and unconsciously, to avoid it. As a result, anything that conflicts with our deeply held beliefs (whatever they may be) becomes an object of fear and suspicion because we know that it can"hurt" us.

Those who seek to exploit us will also try to keep our minds closed in order to prevent competing ideas from getting in the way of their self-serving narratives. Many groups with strong ideologies (governments, political groups, organized religions, et cetera), can and often do exploit individuals for a myriad of reasons. They may try to extract income from followers, ask for blind obedience, or demand demeaning and possibly dangerous service. To keep adherents from abandoning them, they will try to prevent them from accessing competing ideas which might lead them away. It is often more effective to make people think that they "willingly" chose not to do a thing than it is to tell them that they cannot do a thing. This is known to the exploiters of the world and, not surprisingly, they take steps to keep people "willfully ignorant." They will say "avoid the other side's message because it will corrupt our minds" or "all other ways of believing are evil and should be feared" over and over again until it seems like the truth. Because we begin to believe these lies and we want to be "good" people, we "choose" to dismiss competing ideas without ever hearing them. Later, when the authority comes around asking for money or loyalty, we won't know that resistance is an option. Whoever these takers are doesn't matter, they all fear the free exchange of ideas.

Both natural and imposed closed-mindedness have the same negative effects on our lives. By approaching the world with a fear of exposure to new ideas, we do a great deal of harm to ourselves. As the previous paragraph suggests, we open ourselves to exploitation. We are all valuable, we often have things that are valuable, and when we can't make ourselves see past our beliefs long enough to hear an alternative point of view, we risk losing everything to some predator. There is more, however. We grow by learning from our mistakes. Being proven wrong or having to reevaluate one's own belief structure can be what a person needs to advance as an individual and running from unfamiliar knowledge prevents this progress. If we don't allow ourselves to hear ideas that challenge us, we have nothing to test our beliefs against. By hiding from difficult concepts, we also miss out on things that we may have found value in.

Fortunately, we can rid ourselves of our fear of being wrong and our mistrust of new ideas. Doing this only requires a few changes in how we think about things. The first and most important step is to acknowledge that it is okay to be wrong. While our pride does not account context, our conscious minds do. When we accept the truth that we are universally fallible and understand that there is nothing wrong with this, we can disregard our hurt pride more easily. At that point, we have no reason to avoid information to protect our feelings. We can take it in, evaluate it fairly (to the best of our abilities), and dismiss or integrate it accordingly. We also have to be at peace with the idea of changing our own thoughts when we are presented with compelling information. This can be hard but it is helpful to remember that if an idea is sound, it can stand against falsehoods. If something you believe crumbles under the weight of new knowledge, it likely wasn't really worthy of your belief in the first place. Finally, one must always be wary of anyone who tells you that you must avoid ideas. If a person, organization, group, or government fears us having access to information, it is because they know that their own narratives are flawed.

Once we learn to listen without fear, we let ourselves grow as individuals and open a whole new world of experience. Opening our minds, frees us from the shackles of ignorance. It manifests new avenues of self-development. It allows us to better adapt to change because we no longer fear the knowledge of it. We are protected from those who would exploit us because we can look past their propaganda and misinformation. New and exciting opportunities become available because they are no longer the object of unwarranted mistrust. The list could go on but it might be best to put it simply: By opening our minds and learning to listen, we liberate ourselves and improve our lives.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website unsplash.com.