"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."
--Proverbs 27:17
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The idea here, I believe, is that as we confront ideas different from our own, we're forced to think more deeply than we might otherwise do. These new ideas may even dismantle our beliefs or perceptions on a matter. The thing is, such challenges may also lead us to dig deeper to see if we've built our worldview on a firm foundation or shifting sands.
What brought this proverb to mind was the following quote from philosopher/thinker Karl Popper:
"Bold ideas, unjustified anticipations, and speculative thought, are our only means for interpreting nature: our only organon, our only instrument, for grasping her. And we must hazard them to win our prize. Those among us who are unwilling to expose their ideas to the hazard of refutation do not take part in the scientific game."
In science, ideas that get set forth are on the table to be probed. Conflicting ideas lead to new insights or firmer resolutions. To question is OK. The application of this principle goes far beyond the realm of science.
Unfortunately, to the degree that universities stifle the free exploration of ideas, to that degree we have failed to equip our students with an essential skill: the ability to think. This is precisely what's wrong with our current culture of negation.
Sometimes it is through talking things out with others that we figure out what we ourselves really believe. Healthy bull sessions in college dorm rooms help young people recognize what is "bull" and what is not.
On many college campuses conservative speakers aren't even permitted to speak for fear that riots will ensue. At Drew University, for example, "Some students ...are attempting to block a conservative, pro-life speaker from lecturing on campus by ripping down flyers and protesting the visit at a student government meeting... Others have circulated social media posts urging students to attend a November 3 student government meeting and ask them to block the conservative speaker."
Here's an article by the American Bar Association making the observation that it is primarily conservative speakers being barred or blocked from speaking on college campuses. The article by Stephen J. Wermiel & Josh Blackman is titled Thwarting Speech on College Campuses.
Right now college campuses are debating just how much they should allow the free exchange of ideas. If we accept the idea behind Proverbs 27:17, this is a demonstration of weakness on the part of our schools. If they so fear the free flow of information in the marketplace of ideas, how will they ever deal with the realities beyond the borders of campus life?
The authors of The Coddling of the American Mind showed how this current development came about. C.S. Lewis saw the early stages of this development nearly a century ago. When writing my review of his book I cited his observation, "The worst of all public dangers is the committee of public safety." In today's schools we fear ruffling feathers. We want schools to be a "safe" place.
I keep running into people who say they're abandoning social media because of the lack of freedom to express ideas without creating a backlash, or fearing as such.
The bad behavior is not solely from the Left. There is lashing out from the Right as well, though on campuses these past five years I've heard more instances of protests from the liberal side. Needless to say, we have drifted far afield from what I believe is the higher ground of dialogue and the once-noble notion that "I may not agree with what you say but I support your right to say it." That principle is part of the wreckage brought about by cancel culture.
Oddly enough, I was "cancelled" (or sharply criticized) for even mentioning the expression "cancel culture" because it this canceller said doesn't exist any more. "We're so past that," he said, while cancelling me for suggesting it.
These are strange times.
I can't count the number of times I've been censored, both from "right" and "left".
ReplyDeleteI've had my actual words CHANGED, "for clarity".
I try to find a way to speak my piece without setting off their algorithms, but of course many times, it is actual people who are doing the censoring.
The era of William Safire conservatism is over. The modern Right is not engaged in an "honest exchange of ideas"--they are provocateurs whose rhetoric inspires most political violence in this country. We have nearly 70% of Republicans falsely asserting the 2020 election was stolen. There is nothing to be learned from these people. You want to espouse anti-mask conspiracies or climate-change denialism? Get a soapbox and shout it in a public place. But giving fascists a platform is not a good use of college dues. (Worth noting that this isn't new, either: Pro-Vietnam War hacks were also booed off the stage, as I'm sure you recall.)
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