Have you ever wondered why it is that the person you are
debating is unable to perceive what you are trying to tell them? They don’t
seem interested in listening to what you have to say or the evidence you have
accumulated and are presenting in support of your position or the problems you
highlight in their arguments.
When this happens it is like each side is talking past the
other rather than to the other and there is nothing that can done to get through
to them. It happens because of our own and the other parties’ mind-set, we have
become locked in a battle of ideas and each side is trying to be victorious
over the other.
The video below helps to explain this situation and discusses
two mind-sets we have; our ‘soldier’ mind-set and our ‘scout’ mind-set. The
‘soldier’ mind-set is the one being used in the situation I described above.
When we are in ‘soldier' mind-set we view the world in terms
of ‘us’ and ‘them’, and we want our side to triumph. Our cognitive biases are
emphasised and we use motivated reasoning in an attempt to ‘win’ the argument.
At the very time when we would like to be at our best, we are actually behaving
in our least rational way. Motivated reasoning happens whenever one of our
cherished beliefs is challenged from an external source.
If we want to accurately describe the world we need to use
‘scout’ mind-set instead. The job of the scout isn’t to ‘win’ but to find out
what actually exists as accurately as possible. The scout may hope to find useful
information that supports his team, but recognises that he may not find what he
is looking for. He is not motivated to fight and win in the way the soldier is,
but is highly motivated to find the truth.
Being Scouts
It’s all very well knowing we have different mind-sets,
different ways that we can act mentally, but how do we encourage ourselves to be
‘scouts’ rather than ‘soldiers’? I’ve already said that soldier mind-set is in
use when we want to win, so if we reduce our need to find ourselves right that
driver goes away. If we don’t have cherished beliefs it is much easier for us
to impartially evaluate the reality we live in. If we don’t have much at stake
it is easier for us to seek valid data and make a balanced and fair assessment
of what is actually known. We need to be curious about what is, not spend our
time justifying the way we 'know' things to be.
Biblical Priming
I wonder if the Bible actually encourages us to use soldier
mind-set and primes our mind to be closed to the ‘them’ of alternative
worldviews. We don’t have to think very hard before we remember soldier analogies
from the Bible:
- Ephesians 6:11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of faith…
- Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…
There are even words attributed to Jesus that prime the soldier mind-set.
- Matthew 10:34: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
I am aware that if we think harder there are occasional 'scout' analogies as well, but these are harder to think of and therefore have less influence in priming our attitude.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.
I think this bias towards the soldier mind-set overflows from
the Bible and into the thinking of Christadelphians as well as other Christian
groups. In the Christian tradition there are hymns like 355 in the Christadelphian green hymn
book, “Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armour on”, and Christadelphians
have publications like ‘Defence and Confirmation’, the title of which implies battle (and bias). There are Christadelphian
discussion pages which are closed to out-group members highlighting the ‘us/them’
division. Forums have posts where Christadelphians are asking for sources to
refute something they already know they disagree with.
When I was dis-fellowshipped there were some people who
either said or implied that now I’m on the other team I’m not in their group
and they don’t want much more to do with me. I was seen as the enemy and not to
be trusted anymore.
These views can also be seen in the ongoing debate between
Christians and atheists. In their soldier mind-set these Christians have
painted the atheists as ‘them' which has prompted some atheists to respond
aggressively in keeping with the ‘us/them’ boundaries and fight back. In
another reference to solider mind-set, Christians practice apologetics (which
means ‘verbal defence’) to defend their cherished doctrines and dogmas.
But Christian/atheist debates don’t work, they don’t generally cause
people to change their mind, because most people already know which team they
are on and will find every reason possible to support their side. Debates are only
useful to people who are making their mind up for the first time or are genuinely
open to revising their views – the people without strong feelings of which team
they are on.
A Healthier
Alternative
Theism and atheism are the extreme ends of a one-dimensional
continuum. When describing ourselves using these terms we can only place ourselves
at one of the extremes making it a binary description which isn't very useful. While there are some
people who think that they really are at an extreme end, people who have
actually thought about it and are worth listening to will provide a more
nuanced answer. They will likely use a multi-dimensional space to describe
their confidence level in different thoughts and ideas. This is the space we all
need to use if we are to be scouts, share ideas and describe our reality as
best we can.
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