You're not free if you don't question everything

[Lacewing]

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!

Amidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclusion of any opposition?

And if THOSE certain favored ideas cannot be questioned with the same continual rigor used for ideas one might want to rally against, then how truthful and free is one?

Being a soldier following direction/influence (no matter where it comes from) is NOT truth nor freedom!

To be truly free, one must step back from all the noise and not be owned by it. Not be a servant to it. Not perpetuate it.

Rather... listen and observe to get a sense of what's behind the noise.

Truth is more present in a broader view that honors and reconciles many perspectives.

Freedom is not being owned, nor led down nor confined to narrow, rigid paths.

[Belinda]

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!

Amidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclusion of any opposition?

And if THOSE certain favored ideas cannot be questioned with the same continual rigor used for ideas one might want to rally against, then how truthful and free is one?

Being a soldier following direction/influence (no matter where it comes from) is NOT truth nor freedom!

To be truly free, one must step back from all the noise and not be owned by it. Not be a servant to it. Not perpetuate it.

Rather... listen and observe to get a sense of what's behind the noise.

Truth is more present in a broader view that honors and reconciles many perspectives.

Freedom is not being owned, nor led down nor confined to narrow, rigid paths.

Lacewing, I agree. To be sceptical is to question my own confirmation bias. I am responsible for my choices, and when I am sceptical I am more likely to choose wisely.

[Impenitent]

-Imp

[uwot]

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!

Amidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclusion of any opposition?

I think you hit the nail on the head with the opening sentence. Anyone with an ounce of creativity can conjure up a story that both supports what they wish to be true and is compatible with the evidence before them. The history of philosophy is basically a bunch of stories which weren't obviously wrong at the time. The problem is with people who don't celebrate the ingenuity of humankind and instead demand that everyone respect their story above others'.

[commonsense]

-Imp

Good question

[commonsense]

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!

Amidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclusion of any opposition?

And if THOSE certain favored ideas cannot be questioned with the same continual rigor used for ideas one might want to rally against, then how truthful and free is one?

Being a soldier following direction/influence (no matter where it comes from) is NOT truth nor freedom!

To be truly free, one must step back from all the noise and not be owned by it. Not be a servant to it. Not perpetuate it.

Rather... listen and observe to get a sense of what's behind the noise.

Truth is more present in a broader view by that honors and reconciles many perspectives.

Freedom is not being owned, nor led down nor confined to narrow, rigid paths.

Well said.

[commonsense]

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!

Amidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclusion of any opposition?

And if THOSE certain favored ideas cannot be questioned with the same continual rigor used for ideas one might want to rally against, then how truthful and free is one?

Being a soldier following direction/influence (no matter where it comes from) is NOT truth nor freedom!

To be truly free, one must step back from all the noise and not be owned by it. Not be a servant to it. Not perpetuate it.

Rather... listen and observe to get a sense of what's behind the noise.

Truth is more present in a broader view that honors and reconciles many perspectives.

Freedom is not being owned, nor led down nor confined to narrow, rigid paths.

Lacewing, I agree. To be sceptical is to question my own confirmation bias. I am responsible for my choices, and when I am sceptical I am more likely to choose wisely.

Yes, so important to be open-minded.

[RCSaunders]

You're not free if you don't question everything

...ESPECIALLY that which you'd LIKE to believe in!{/quote]

usAmidst seemingly infinite perspectives and possibilities, why does anyone become an extremist for CERTAIN ideas to the exclion of any opposition?

That's just what you like to believe in.

[Advocate]

It's a good starting point but if you keep questioning everything you'll never get anywhere. Intellectual maturity is the process of closing your mind. You discover necessary and sufficient truths and then rely upon them to gain higher understanding.