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Anyone who has been following the news lately (and for quite some time actually) has got to notice how important it really is to recognize the truth and/or the lies. How important it truly is to separate the facts from the nonsense, or we end up with people believing, pursuing and insisting on a dangerous battle with windmills that affects all of us. Brings us all down. Indeed the inability of so many people to separate the truth from the lies is a very dangerous thing.
Whether it be religion or politics, the result of this want to embrace falsehoods instead of the truth in order to pursue misguided agendas is a very dangerous thing indeed.
No one really knows what to do about this problem, and I'm short of answers too, but at a minimum I'd ask anyone how they go about separating the truth from the lies? Does their process pass muster?
What is your process and why does it pass muster in your opinion?
Anyone who has been following the news lately (and for quite some time actually) has got to notice how important it really is to recognize the truth and/or the lies. How important it truly is to separate the facts from the nonsense, or we end up with people believing, pursuing and insisting on a dangerous battle with windmills that affects all of us. Brings us all down. Indeed the inability of so many people to separate the truth from the lies is a very dangerous thing.
Whether it be religion or politics, the result of this want to embrace falsehoods instead of the truth in order to pursue misguided agendas is a very dangerous thing indeed.
No one really knows what to do about this problem, and I'm short of answers too, but at a minimum I'd ask anyone how they go about separating the truth from the lies? Does their process pass muster?
What is your process and why does it pass muster in your opinion?
I don't know that there is 'a process'.
But one place that I start is considering who's making the claim. What's their past record?
But one place that I start is considering who's making the claim. What's their past record?
That's a good start and what's good about it is that you begin by asking questions...
There are actually many places to start depending on the circumstances, but the beginning has got to be with ourselves. Another question or two of importance for starters are these; do we even think about how our judgement can be clouded? Why? What do we do about it? Do we even try?
In Buddhism there's a teaching that, stated bluntly, basically says, don't associate with fools. So I think another step is looking at what other people are saying the same thing.
Anyone who has been following the news lately (and for quite some time actually) has got to notice how important it really is to recognize the truth and/or the lies. How important it truly is to separate the facts from the nonsense, or we end up with people believing, pursuing and insisting on a dangerous battle with windmills that affects all of us. Brings us all down. Indeed the inability of so many people to separate the truth from the lies is a very dangerous thing.
Whether it be religion or politics, the result of this want to embrace falsehoods instead of the truth in order to pursue misguided agendas is a very dangerous thing indeed.
No one really knows what to do about this problem, and I'm short of answers too, but at a minimum I'd ask anyone how they go about separating the truth from the lies? Does their process pass muster?
What is your process and why does it pass muster in your opinion?
...critical thinking... grammar, rhetoric and logic, also taught as 'the trivium' is no longer taught at any level in school now....it's a tool to identify dialectic from rhetoric, it's basically your own bullchit meter...i spent four years in a jesuit run, catholic, all boys high school in the late 60's...this way of teaching, being able to identify rhetoric from dialectic was woven into every subject taught...
...most of what you see in the 'media', be it mainstream or otherwise, is rhetoric, hyperbole and word spells and would be mostly dismissed and laughed at hysterically by a populace of savvy consumers....
...critical thinking... grammar, rhetoric and logic, also taught as 'the trivium' is no longer taught at any level in school now....it's a tool to identify dialectic from rhetoric, it's basically your own bullchit meter...i spent four years in a jesuit run, catholic, all boys high school in the late 60's...this way of teaching, being able to identify rhetoric from dialectic was woven into every subject taught...
...most of what you see in the 'media', be it mainstream or otherwise, is rhetoric, hyperbole and word spells and would be mostly dismissed and laughed at hysterically by a populace of savvy consumers....
And were they open to critical review of catholicism?
Anytime anybody says anything, even if they state it as a fact or truth, whether they explicitly label it "this is a fact", I always treat it as something abstract. If the person wants a deeper connection with me, then I will listen to the reasoning behind the comment. This is still treated as something abstract. If the person wants me to act, then I need to see something concrete.
This is the process I use:
1.Abstract - opinion, belief, claim, feeling, or conclusion
2.Abstract - reasoning
3.Concrete - evidence, examples, or demonstration
But I don't go through all the stages. Most relationships are built at the abstract level. If a statement doesn't resonate with me, it will take some real polite language and the ability to "play it by ear" to get me to listen further than number 1.
Easy peasy. Democrat, progressive, left leaning - I will look and listen closely and with interest. If what they are talking about makes sense and aligns with my own life, values and interests, I will act.
GOP, Moderate (Can't think of one who qualifies. Most are dead.) - I will listen. Any other kind - I dismiss.
Thinkers, Writers, Academics (other than from Fox and other GOP aligned institutions) - I will listen/read their works.
Anyone who has been following the news lately (and for quite some time actually) has got to notice how important it really is to recognize the truth and/or the lies. How important it truly is to separate the facts from the nonsense, or we end up with people believing, pursuing and insisting on a dangerous battle with windmills that affects all of us. Brings us all down. Indeed the inability of so many people to separate the truth from the lies is a very dangerous thing.
Whether it be religion or politics, the result of this want to embrace falsehoods instead of the truth in order to pursue misguided agendas is a very dangerous thing indeed.
No one really knows what to do about this problem, and I'm short of answers too, but at a minimum I'd ask anyone how they go about separating the truth from the lies? Does their process pass muster?
What is your process and why does it pass muster in your opinion?
My "process" is to first understand that those that hold differing views, opinions, and preferences as to how things should be, are not "embracing falsehood".
Second ...I understand that there is ultimately no such thing as Absolute Objective Truth...as nothing is infallible.
Very little that actually matters can be placed so high on The Scale of Probability that everything rests upon, to be determined As Surely True As Can Be.
For 99.999% of human history we had very little of this knowledge...and we survived. Without all the environment wrecking & climate changing we now have. And THAT'S the truth.
As we can see...this thread is very much a political statement, with stuff like, "How important it truly is to separate the facts from the nonsense, or we end up with people believing, pursuing and insisting on a dangerous battle with windmills that affects all of us. Brings us all down."
BTW...electricity generating windmills do produce EMFs that have been found to cause cancer. And then posting pictures of the water-pump windmills in The Netherlands, with a caption under them "Causes Cancer", is what's indicative of "nonsense to pursue a misguided agenda".
Your bias & hate toward others that have differing Beliefs & preferences from you is showing again.
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