He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.

[Colonoscopy]

From John Stewart Mills:

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion... Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.

 

[Colonoscopy]

If only everyone approached political topics this way, eh?

 

[seminole97]

If only everyone approached political topics this way, eh?

Sounds like some Putin propaganda!

 

[artradley]

From John Stewart Mills:

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion... Nor is it enough that he should hear the opinions of adversaries from his own teachers, presented as they state them, and accompanied by what they offer as refutations. He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them...he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.

I’ve said for some time logic and reason should be taught in school. One of the exercises should be arguing issues from the opposition perspective of your personal views.

These days, kids should also be taught how to consume media intelligently. How to not be fooled by fake news.

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

I’ve said for some time logic and reason should be taught in school. One of the exercises should be arguing issues from the opposition perspective of your personal views.

These days, kids should also be taught how to consume media intelligently. How to not be fooled by fake news.

100%.

Too often people think logic and reason are just math (math helps but it is not a substitute) and half of society struggles at even the basics there. The ability to form a coherent argument, to understand the pros and cons of another side of an argument, to critically think through a topic is…well…critical.

In schools it seems many teachers resort to teaching a bunch of dumbass facts that can be found in a 10 second google search. Instead teach kids how to consume that information, how to evaluate it.

We spend too much time teaching people what to think and not nearly enough time teaching people how to think.