We live in an age of ideology. It promises security, but it's a losing bet. It leads down a rabbit hole to confusion, disappointment, and unhappiness. Here are some practices to help avoid ideology.
Another thing I think should be in the list: "Be comfortable with the fact that you can't know some things." Many people do a lot of damage to themselves and others because they are uncomfortable with the unknowable, so they try to fill the gap with some kind of ideology, often dangerous.
Good point - Thanks for the addition. We don't like uncertainty and try to fill the gap. I also think this relates to what Polanyi calls inarticulate rationality and the idea of poetic and connatural knowledge. There are things that we know through intuition, but we can't really articulate -- and that too makes us uncomfortable so we try to come up with a reductionist explanation or a just so story.
Another thing I think should be in the list: "Be comfortable with the fact that you can't know some things." Many people do a lot of damage to themselves and others because they are uncomfortable with the unknowable, so they try to fill the gap with some kind of ideology, often dangerous.
Good point - Thanks for the addition. We don't like uncertainty and try to fill the gap. I also think this relates to what Polanyi calls inarticulate rationality and the idea of poetic and connatural knowledge. There are things that we know through intuition, but we can't really articulate -- and that too makes us uncomfortable so we try to come up with a reductionist explanation or a just so story.
"Seldom affirm, rarely deny, always distinguish" - Thomas Aquinas
Amen! Each one of these can serve as a lifejacket to keep one afloat amidst the great tsunami of stupid that has swept the nation.