Open-Minded?
I witnessed an interesting discussion at work today. I normally don’t get involved in useless debate but this particular question has come up from time to time in other circles and I found it interesting to hear other perspectives on it. The cause of the debate was the ruling from a judge in good old San Francisco that basically tries to say that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. The discussion that evolved was really what it means for a person to be “open-minded”..
I will save everyone reading this from having to deal with the name calling and general ignorance of those that mainly partook in the so called ‘discussion’. However, the key point that I saw in this debate was the meaning that one attaches to the phrase “open -minded”. In this debate, there were three schools of thought on the definition of the phrase, and they were: 1) In order to be open minded you must accept everything everyone else says or does, even if you disagree with it 2) Open-mindedness is simply not shutting out consideration to other people ideas but you still weigh out your options and may still stick to your own beliefs 3) Closed-mindedness is having a rigid belief structure and anything else then by default is open-mindedness. Keeping these perspectives in mind, you can probably imagine what a conversation was like amongst several people of differing opinions.
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For the sake of being thorough, I went to Dictionary.com and looked up “Open-minded”. Following is the definition listed from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of others.
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Well, if we go by the definition set forth, it appears that those adhering strictly to the first and third personal positions mentioned above either don’t know or don’t care what the real definition is. Regardless of said ignorance, let’s look at the real definition and try to expand on it.
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Breaking down the definition, we start with “Having or showing receptiveness to…”. What does that mean? I think it is pretty clear. It means you have or show the ability to consider alternate ideas or opinions. Note that it doesn’t say anything about adopting, accepting, believing, trusting, feeling, or sharing in this sentence. These are all meanings that some people try to attach to the phrase “open-minded”. Now you know that they really don’t know what this part of the phrase means. The latter part of the phrase: “…new and different ideas or the opinions of others.” should really be broken into two more parts for further clarification. Specifically, there is a difference between an ‘idea’ and an ‘opinion’. Back to the dictionary…
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Idea: Something, such as a thought or conception, that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity.
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Opinion: A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.
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Ideas are basically just thoughts; untested challenges of logic or emotion. Sometimes they are unconnected and pure, while other times they are expansions on other thoughts. An opinion is much different as it is adopted by a person as part of their belief system, regardless of the fact that there may not be any evidence or even common sense to back it up. Because of this difference, many people will view ideas in a positive light and disregard opinions all together, thus bringing us back to our original question: What is it to be open-minded?
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Based on these definitions from trusted references, it is pretty easy to determine that an open-minded person is simply one that is willing to listen, comprehend and consider what another person has to say at any given time, but is not bound in any way to give this information any legitimacy whatsoever nor should that person feel compelled to do so. It is unfortunate that there are some that claim to be the only ones that are “open-minded”, when in reality it is often those people that are perpetuating untruths and misconception about its true meaning. This all leads to the final definition for this little monologue:
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Reality: That which is left when you understand that a belief system is just a mechanism for interpreting what we cannot explain or comprehend.
posted by Bonzai @ 4:17 PM
3 Comments:
Way, to keep it fair and balanced man! When I use the phrase "open-minded" I usually have to add the phrase "trying my best to be.." Mostly because of a nasty little word I am sometimes cursed with called "convictions - A fixed or strong belief." What I have to battle with daily is that on average my "convictions" are not always well founded, and tend to be speculative. But hey, I got a whole life to get it balanced out. At least I am "trying". More people out there need to keep trying too...
I’ve found that life is much better if you let other people deal with their own problems. That doesn’t mean that I don’t help someone when I have an opportunity, but it does mean that I have learned to recognize coercion through deception. “Political Correctness” is a perfect example. Re-writing history (or misreporting current events) so that key elements and people are virtually ignored is another way. Interested people find the truth, regardless of how smart the deceivers think they are.
If your beliefs are strong, stick to them. When other people challenge your beliefs, it is usually because their own beliefs are weak by comparison and they feel the need to lessen your convictions, thus giving them some twisted sense of ‘balance’. Why should you be the one to weaken your beliefs? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone were able to shore up their own beliefs with truth and honesty instead of tearing down those with strong convictions? You decide – then let them find their own balance for a change.
Hey Art & Harley! Thanks for stopping by my blog site and leaving some feedback.
Art, I’m not sure how, but I think you missed the point on my “coercion…” comment and then turned around and illustrated that very point. This is just a piece of the larger puzzle anyway as I was really trying to get to the bottom of what it means to be “open minded”.
Part of being open isn’t just being open to the alternate possibilities to logic but it also means being open to the idea that what it appears to be, might actually be the reality. I’m sure you have heard the saying: “If it looks like a duck, and it sounds like a duck, well it just might be a duck.”
I was also attempting to make the point that one doesn’t have to tear down another person’s belief structure just to make a point. If you disagree, so be it. If you choose to state your opinion, so be it. I generally feel that opinions are mostly worthless to anyone other than whom they belong to. However, if you ask for another person’s opinion only to tear it to pieces, it often shows that you just want a platform to preach on. Save it.
If there is one thing I love about the First Amendment, it is that it allows people to speak their minds – but doesn’t force ANYONE to have to listen to them.
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