Navigating Fallacies and Finding Truth | Ep. 51
[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to Order Within Navigating a world of endless chaos and crisis, many of us are experiencing inner turmoil, insecurity, anxiety, fears, and isolation. These feelings are only being amplified by news cycles. Social media and never ending political madness. How do we find our way out of the chaos?
[00:00:24] How do we find strength within ourselves? How do we find meaning in a world driven by materialism? These questions and many more I aim to answer on the show. My goal is to be a trusted guide on your journey to selfhood. May you find what you seek.
[00:00:45] Hello and welcome everyone. I'm your host, Brandon Ward. Back with another episode of order within. Episode number 51. Fast approaching the year. Mark. Been publishing. Episodes for almost a year now. I love this. Hopefully you're enjoying it. I'm excited about today's show topic. We're going to be discussing fallacies and finding truth. And ultimately, how do we strengthen our inner compass to navigate?
[00:01:19] Uh, world well and most throughout history. There's been tons of misinformation, mistruths, half-truths all those things. We're constantly in the pursuit of truth. And understanding the world that we're a part of understanding how things operate. Science is a prime example of that. The scientific process is a constant pursuit of discovery.
[00:01:40] And we have theories that we test. Over time. And over time, those theories as they're tested can either be validated to disproved and they become well trusted theories, but theories, nonetheless, right? We're still exploring nothing is set in stone. We have to understand that that's true of all things. There's always new concepts that couldn't.
[00:02:03] Can come from exploring and expanding. Our understanding of the world that we're a part of. So today's topic is about navigating those things. And how do we increase our ability to filter through the nonsense, strengthen our inner minds? Our critical minds are and increase our critical thinking because from my perspective,
[00:02:26] Seeing how little we do that now is causing massive problems for us as OSI as species and as society. It's. It's blocking us from connecting with one another and moving forward.
[00:02:40] Especially as the world continues. To develop and fall more into depression and corruption and narcissism and all the madness that's happening around us. These internal critical thinking skills are crucial for survival and thriving in a world in a modern world. Built on information. I think this is only going to become more relevant.
[00:03:04] As technology evolves and expands and develops like AI. Strengthening our mind is the ability to navigate an ever-changing world and be okay with that and lean into it and actually acts, be excited about it and learn, and grow and empower ourselves to expand our minds and strengthen our minds.
[00:03:23] Critical thinking. Is a great way. To connect with our authentic selves and define inter inner strength as one of the huge reasons why we do this. It's also a great way to connect with others and build lasting strong connections in relationships. Some of my best friendships, in fact, One of my best friends that I've known since seventh grade. He's my brother.
[00:03:46] Not by blood, but by spirit. We've been different. We've been on different spectrums for the majority of our life. But we've been great friends because of our ability to talk to one another, to hear each other's perspectives, to understand where we're coming from. And we still don't see eye to eye on a lot of things.
[00:04:06] But over the years, Our ability to look at the world, view it, discuss it has brought us a lot closer on topics because we've come to realize the fallacies of our own perspectives. And so when we navigate this and when we.
[00:04:19] Build these critical thinking skills. It allows us to not only connect with ourselves, but deeper connection with the people that we care about in our lives as well, and expand our circle of friends and influence.
[00:04:30] All right. So the outline for today's show. We're going to talk about logical fallacies and understanding their impact. We're going to look at developing. Critical thinking skills. We're going to go over embracing diverse perspectives and fostering civil discourse. We're gonna look at the perils of tribalism and the power of critical thinking, how those tie together and give examples of history or that's been the opposite.
[00:04:57] It's caused. Terrible situations. We're going to look at reconnecting with our authentic selves, through critical digging. And then we're going to wrap the episode. I've got a lot to cover today. So I'm going to do my best to get through here. In a timely manner. I want to make sure that I'm trying to keep these shows at a max 45 minutes. I'm trying to keep them tighter at 30 minutes, just because I want to be respectful of your time.
[00:05:19] And make sure that the content is very valuable and helpful. And you enjoy it. So we're going to look at first. Some of the more common. Logical fallacies. And their impact. So I've selected. I've seven here. I'm actually going to add in an eighth one as I was. Chatting with my buddy today on Twitter.
[00:05:39] About another one that he brought up that I think is a really good one that we should discuss. So I'm going to break these down. So first is the straw man argument. Which is a fallacy that involved. So I'm going to go through and give some examples too, after this, but I'm going to break each of the fallacies down and then we'll go through some examples to illustrate the points.
[00:05:56] So the straw man argument and the upside of this is once you hear what these are, you're going to start to see them all around you. And you're going to start to realize that we actually don't debate. Really hardly ever, especially on social media, we're not hearing one another. Everyone's digging in.
[00:06:11] Everyone's picking their sides and we're making no progress as a society though. This is a problem. So I'm hoping that this will illustrate the dangers of this and how we can overcome some of these limitations in our minds.
[00:06:24] So the first one though, is the straw man argument.
[00:06:29] This fallacy involves misrepresenting an opponent's argument, making it easier to attack the argue or creates a straw man version of the opponent's position, which is weaker or more extreme. And then refutes that. Rather than addressing the actual argument.
[00:06:46] And then I, I'm gonna go into the examples right now. Cause it'd be easier. So it wasn't a straw. A straw man argument would be the original argument is I think we should invest more in public transportation to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. The straw man version. You want to get rid of all cars and force everyone to ride buses and trains that's unrealistic and would cause massive disruption. The Straumann misrepresents the original argument by exaggerating it, and then attacking the exaggerated version instead of addressing the actual point. That happens all the time on social media. I ran us a political YouTube channel for a while. I had a podcast. That happened to me all the time. I can not tell you the insane extreme versions.
[00:07:32] Of arguments that people would come up off based off of a talking point that I said that had nothing to do with what I was talking about. It's wild. It happens all the time. So that's a big one to be. Mindful of. And look out for. All right, the next one.
[00:07:48] Again, I love seeing it because you start to see this stuff all around. So if we're going to really be genuine about making progress, we have to debate the things that people are actually discussing. We have to listen to them. We have to hear specifically what they're saying. And then we have to take the time to consider it.
[00:08:04] Research it. And think about it. It's easy to make up arguments and then dismiss them. But it's much harder to actually listen and connect with our fellow humans and be real about it and challenge our thinking and consider it honestly.
[00:08:18] The next argument. Is the ad hominem Arbor argument. This fallacy involves attacking the person, making the argument, rather than addressing the argument itself. It's an attempt to undermine the credibility of the person instead of engaging with their ideas. Now, again, this happens all the time. I'm most modern and reason example for those of you that are on Twitter and have been following along that world is the Twitter files.
[00:08:45] And the work that Matt Taibbi and some of the others have been doing. On Twitter. If you're not familiar with that, I'm going to share another example here. But instead of refuting the evidence, the journalism, the reporting that they're doing, they're just attacking the person. It's terrible. It doesn't do anything. You only do that. If you can't attack the reporting.
[00:09:03] That's the key. If you have no argument against the points they're making, then you go after the person. That's not debating. That's slinging mud and that's lowering ourselves down. It's not what we're trying to do. So an example.
[00:09:18] The argument. I believe that higher taxes on junk food can help com combat obesity. The ad hominine response. You're just saying that because you're overweight, you should focus on your own eating habits before telling others what to do. So prime example of tacking the person instead of the actual argument, if you it's much harder to think about the concept or POS prospect of higher taxes on junk food and what it can do to combat obesity than it is just.
[00:09:44] Target someone and their own eating habits. It doesn't take away from the validity of their point. It actually brings more value to it from my perspective. But that's common. In the ad hominem space with arguments like that. Going against the person instead of the substance of the argument.
[00:10:03] The next one.
[00:10:05] Appeal to authority again. And the pandemic was a huge thing that this, all this specific type of thing got way out of hand. And I think still is way out of hand. But the appeal to authority occurs when someone argues that a claim must be true because an authority or expert supports it. Well, expert opinions can provide valuable insights. They should not be the sole basis for accepting a claim without further evidence. That just because someone's an expert doesn't mean whatever they say is always true or correct.
[00:10:36] We have to be critical in our thinking. And be skeptical of all information, regardless of who's telling us those things. Uh, another example, again, the pandemic was enlightening for a lot of different reasons, regardless of your political perspective. The comment from Dr. About I am. Science is a prime example of the dangers of the appeal to authority.
[00:11:00] No one is science, just because you have a position of authority does not mean whatever you say is gospel science. Isn't a claim. It's a process. So it doesn't. It's not living in one person. The appeal to authority is very dangerous because it gives us the security of believing, whatever a person may say. But it takes the responsibility out for away from us in terms of digging into what they're saying and actually validating or vetting what they're saying.
[00:11:28] Here's an example. Dr. Smith. Uh, renowned scientists as the climate change is not a serious threat, so we shouldn't worry about it.
[00:11:37] But, and that's it. Just because Dr. Smith is a renowned scientist that says that we shouldn't think about it. The reality is you want to do your own research, right? You want to see if that's valid. You want to look at counter-arguments to that? You want to look at the data you want to look at research. We need to take the time.
[00:11:54] And the effort to do that. If we don't, it puts us in a very dangerous position. And relies solely on the opinion of authority figures, which makes us ripe for manipulation. And that's the fear here.
[00:12:07] As we're trying to avoid. Being manipulated as much as we can. The next one. Is the false dichotomy. This fallacy involves presenting only two options as if they are the only possible choices. When in reality, there may be other alternatives. This can lead to over-simplification of complex issues. Again, very common practice on social media.
[00:12:32] Let's look at an example here. So here's the argument either we cut social programs to reduce the national debt, or we face economic collapse. This argument presents only two options. As if they're the only possible choices ignoring other potential solutions, such as raises taxes or real allocating funds from other areas or various solutions that may be possible.
[00:12:55] When we look at the world. In in Divided way like that in it from a dichotomy perspective, we're only seeing two points, two polarizing points. Life isn't like that. Life is nuance. It's all nuance. We live on the scale of negative and positive. We exist between extremes. That's where life happens.
[00:13:14] Nothing is rarely, rarely are things that simple on that clear and especially with complex issues. So presenting these as a false dichotomy is dangerous and limits our ability to find alternative solutions in a scenario that could help us progress as a society.
[00:13:30] Slippery slope is the next one. This one kind of drives me nuts. This fallacy has surged that a seemingly small action will lead to a chain of events resulting in a negative outcome. It often exaggerates the consequences without providing sufficient evidence that the predicted outcome is likely to happen.
[00:13:49] So the example. If we legalize marijuana. It's only a matter of time before people push to legalize harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. The argument assumes that one action legalizing marijuana. Will inevitably lead to a negative outcome, legalizing harder drugs without providing evidence for this chain of events.
[00:14:10] And as a people, as a species, we love to make statements without any kind of backing or validation to it. That's a prime example of that. And that again, limits our ability to see things clearly and respect the nuance of life as it is, because there's a lot of nuance like that. And it's easy to just make things up like two, two,
[00:14:32] Exaggerate. Over-exaggerate what will happen without any kind of evidence to back it up. Anyone can say anything. It's much more difficult to provide research or evidence or examples of scenarios where that's happened. And that's the key thing. If you really want to make your point, then you have to, if you're going to make statements like that, you have to validate it with some kind of backing.
[00:14:51] Otherwise, we're just being mean to each other.
[00:14:54] Another one. Hasty generalizations. This fallacy occurs when someone draws a conclusion based on insufficient evidence or too few examples, it often results in stereotypes or unsupported claims. Now that's one. That happens a lot. It's very dangerous. And we're going to talk about some examples in history where I think this is a very prominent example.
[00:15:17] But here's the generalization example. I met three rude new Yorkers today. All new Yorkers must be rude. You're looking at a small sample size. Leading to an unsupported, generalization about an entire group of people. This is how tragedies happen. This is how mass extinction events happen. This is how terrible things in history have come to be.
[00:15:40] Because of hasty generalization. And again, Regardless of your political party. You're seeing that right now in the United States at a very high level where you're having these giant generalizations about groups of people and what they do and what they believe in all that. That's completely ignoring the nuance of reality and the individual within those groups.
[00:16:01] Not all people. That have certain perspectives or viewpoints are wrong or evil or whatever. I can't tell you how many people have seen on social media calling other people fascists simply because they don't share their perspective on life. That doesn't make people fascist if they don't agree with you. And in fact,
[00:16:19] If you're calling people fascist because of their political views, you're probably the fascist because generalizations of this sort is how fascism routes and takes over society. So we have to be very cautious with this one.
[00:16:33] The other one we're looking at here is. And this is the, I got one, two more. With this one included. Circular reasoning. And so this Fauzi involves using the conclusion of an argument as one of its, as one of its premises. The argument essentially repeats itself without providing new evidence or reasoning to make it.
[00:16:56] That which makes it valid. So this one's kind of confusing. And let me show you, I'm going to give the example here, because this is important. To clarify. So the argument. Says the Bible is true because it is the word of God. We know it is the word of God, because the Bible says, so like they're using the Bible as validation for the fact that it's a word of God, because the Bible says, so.
[00:17:17] Th that's a cert. Like you're in a, you're just in a circle there, and there's no validation to your point because you're using the very thing that you're trying to validate with the validation. People do this a lot too. It's not as common, but it's something to look out for.
[00:17:30] The key here is that you have to provide the evidence or the reasoning behind it to support it. Now. Faith and religion is a whole different thing. Y'all know if you listen to my show, I'm a very spiritual and faithful person. But I'm not, I'm also a scientifically oriented version. I think it's absurd that we've separated. Those two things. I, from my perspective, we use science to explore and discover and understand God's creation. They both can live together. That's my perspective.
[00:17:58] You may not agree with that, but. It is what it is. All right then the last one. Thank you, Matt for sharing. Is. The overconfidence bias. And this one is very common in experts. And so this goes to say that I'm a, if I'm a physical therapist and I'm really good at what I do. I now have an overconfidence bias that because I'm a great physical therapist. I can jump into a new field, let's say investing. And now all of a sudden I'm a master at that too, without putting in the work and the effort and all that simply because I'm an expert in one field.
[00:18:36] I now have an overconfidence bias that I can apply that in any field, even though I have no experience in it. That's very dangerous because we put ourselves in situations. That don't allow us to see things truthfully. And overconfidence can get us in some big trouble. It's how. And competence is really born in big mistakes are made. So the overconfidence bias is a very common thing where the application of expertise in one field is then applied to everything because the internal belief that we carry, so we have to be mindful of that one.
[00:19:08] As well. Something to look out for. Dunning Kruger is another one. I'm going to talk about that a ton today, but ultimately it's like when you start a new skill. Your confidence is way up because you're learning something new it's very early. So you feel like you can do everything with it, but then once you, but you haven't gotten to the point where you're actually deep in the expertise and you've gone through all the mistakes that come from the process of becoming an expert.
[00:19:32] It's the. It's like the beginner's luck concept. It's just actually getting clarification on what it is, but that's another one to look out for too.
[00:19:39] So a lot of this is as I've talked about already.
[00:19:46] Social media. Confirmation bias polarization. Perpetuating this type of thinking. So some of these things that are contributing to this. Is big. And so we're going to go through here. I'm going to talk a little bit about that as well, because ultimately. You know, soundbites, unlimited attention span or something we have to be mindful of. This is why I want us to develop critical thinking skills because it allows us to dig deeper into things, expand our attention.
[00:20:12] And expand our ability to think things through. But in today's fast paced world, peop people often seek quick and easy to digest information. I understand that you're trying to filter things true, but we have to be mindful of that because it's dangerous if we don't. Throw some critical component into that process. We can't just blindly trust information.
[00:20:33] So this can lead to an emphasis on soundbites and slogans over nuanced well-reasoned arguments. And that is keying on social media, the soundbites, and limited like the soundbites of things. That doesn't make you an expert on things. It doesn't make it right. It's just often that appeal to emotion. So the soundbite driven society that we live in is very dangerous for us as critical thinkers. And we have to work against that to ensure that we don't fall victim to it.
[00:21:01] Because of this. Fallacious reasoning can spread more easily. So that's what we have to work, uh, work on and work against. Another aspect to consider is confirmation bias. People have a natural tendency to seek out information that confirms their existing beliefs and to dismiss information that contradicts them. This bias can lead to echo chambers where individuals become increasingly entrenched in their views.
[00:21:25] And less open to considering alternative perspectives. We're all. Susceptible to this, everyone. All of us. No matter how much work we do. This susceptibility never goes away. So recognizing that we all have some form of confirmation bias. And we have to work against an intentionally. To keep us balanced and open.
[00:21:46] So that's something to consider. As we're looking and thinking and digging into information.
[00:21:52] Polarization. Society is becoming increasingly polarized with people, identifying strongly with their perspective. Political social or ideological groups. This can lead to an us versus them mentality where the focus is on winning arguments and discrediting opponents. Rather than engaging in meaningful dialogue and seeking common ground. Now I don't need to tell y'all that's super common. I'm sick of it.
[00:22:15] I want to build genuine human connection. And we certainly don't do it that way. By being polarized. And extreme. And. Kind of digs to one another. When I lived in California. I've always been more of a free. Like libertarian free market kind of guy. I'm a little more right. Leaning in some areas, but I'm also very liberal in other areas. So. I'm politically homeless. That's where I am today. I've been that way for a while. But. I live in California for almost a decade, had a ton of very left leaning, liberal friends, which was fine. I liked learning and experiencing different viewpoints. But one thing that got exhausting for me was that some of my friends.
[00:22:52] Made me to be their right leaning person and everything that happened in the news, they would come at me and throw all this stuff at me. Like you are doing this, or look at what this is doing as if I'm that person. That's a prime example of polarization because we lose the nuance. And then now we're just attaching a label to a person that has anything resembling that perspective. That's dangerous.
[00:23:14] And it's not how we connect with one another at a deep level. And plus. Who wants to be someone else's punching bag every day. It's not very fun.
[00:23:23] And then last here, things to consider, as we're looking at this stuff is the social media algorithms. Plat social media platforms use these algorithms that prioritize content that generates engagement, which often includes controversial or emotionally charged post. This can promote the spread of fallacious arguments and misinformation while making it more challenging for well-reasoned evidence-based discussions to gain traction again.
[00:23:48] Understand that these companies are wanting to keep us hooked on the platform and they're going to do whatever that takes because they're driven by ad dollars. That means views and impressions are how they make money. So they're going to, they're going to rig their algorithms. And the favor that's going to get the most eyeballs and attention on their platforms. We have to know that.
[00:24:09] Marketing and media is manipulation. That is what it is. So we just have to accept that and roll with it and learn from it.
[00:24:17] All right. Let's talk about developing critical thinking skills.
[00:24:22] So critical thinking is very important for us in a complex and. Insanely nuance world. And it's only getting more complex and nuance with the more information that comes out. We're an information overload.
[00:24:38] So critical thinking allows us to analyze and evaluate information, objective as objective as we can. We always have emotions. The oldest parts of our brain are emotionally and survival driven. So we're always going to be countering those parts in our minds. And that's the battle. If you will.
[00:24:56] But knowing that we have to work hard to be objective and evaluate information clearly.
[00:25:03] And enabling us to make well-informed decisions and judgements. That's the upside of this, right. It also helps us to navigate calm the complexities of modern life. And people helps us discern truth from falsehood, overcome biases, stereotypes, and information in. And it allows us to expand and grow as humans and be more connected and truthful and honest with one another. So we can get to the star Trek type society. Man. I want to live in that type of society where we're at that point where we've come together and finally got beyond our tribalism. And we're now driving towards.
[00:25:38] Advancement and evolution as a species. That's connected to our deep spiritual roots.
[00:25:45] Cultivating critical thinking. Individuals can better understand diverse perspectives, engage in open minded conversations and find common ground with people. And you can build these incredible relationships. That's what I love about it. Is. By doing this, you open up yourself to whole new worlds out there that you don't even realize. And we can learn so much from one another.
[00:26:08] I've learned so much from people who look at the world differently than I do. You know how boring it would be to have everyone viewed the world the same way. That's another reason why I'm like, dang, man. Y'all really want everyone to be the same. You don't want any Newmont's of thinking or at all?
[00:26:24] It's going to get boring, real fast.
[00:26:27] But let's look at some practical tips to improve our critical thinking. First and foremost, that's why I went through those fallacies, just recognizing them and becoming familiar with the common logical fallacies. Like we discussed earlier, can help us start to recognize what's happening. Just seeing those patterns. It's incredible. The power that seeing and being present with information can have on our lives, it can really drive home progress. So just recognizing them.
[00:26:54] Gives us a huge leg up by familiarizing ourselves with those. Common fallacies. You want to practice identifying those fallacies in everyday conversations, debates and media sources. So whenever you're looking at information, whenever you're listening to people's conversations, start to identify them, be like, oh, that's an ad. Honamin.
[00:27:11] Ad hominem. That's an overconfidence bias. That's the appeal to authority. That's a straw man. It's, you can start to note them everywhere and this will help you build up a reservoir of information and perspective on how most people engage with one another. Reflect on your own reasoning and be mindful of your own potential.
[00:27:31] Fallacious thinking in your own arguments, do this with ourselves. I'm a big believer of walking the talk. And we do that by reviewing and reflecting on our own beliefs and perspectives first and foremost.
[00:27:45] Another aspect is evaluating evidence. Develop the habit of questioning the credible credibility and reliability of information sources, regardless of what it is. News outlets, governments, doctors, all of that stuff. Just have some questioning, some skepticism, so you can dig into very information. That's healthy and wise. You're protecting yourself.
[00:28:09] Look for corroborating evidence. And consider alternative explanations or perspectives. Be open to perspectives to new pads. We never know.
[00:28:20] Was it Galileo that got hung because he said the world was round or we weren't the center of the universe. I can't remember I'm getting this wrong, but one of those great thinkers was murdered because he didn't go along with the BA with the common belief at the time, but he was right. That's the type of stuff that we have to be open. We have to be open to things. Consider it.
[00:28:43] What if, what if it's not this? What if it is this being opened as crucial?
[00:28:49] And then be cautious of confirmation bias and make an effort to seek out information that challenges our beliefs. That is so crucial. Listen to other people you don't agree with. Hear their perspective, hear what they're saying? Look at the evidence they have. And if people can't present you with any evidence or proof, then I would be highly skeptical of whatever they're offering or selling you because it's most likely a ruse.
[00:29:13] The last thing we can do is question our assumptions. Recognizing question, underlying assumption in arguments and beliefs, both of our own. And those of other that's a big thing is be mindful of the assumptions that we're taking for granted. We do this a lot. And in science, this is critical because we assume things are one way, but we find out there another way.
[00:29:34] So we have to be recognizing and mindful of our assumptions that we have about the world information, whatever it is that we're dealing with. To ensure that's not. Misdirecting our energy and focus.
[00:29:46] Again, approach issues with an open mind and be willing to revise our beliefs in light of new evidence or perspective. This is a hard for people. Sometimes we have to admit we were wrong. Often we have to admit we're wrong. But that's the fun thing. We're on this journey of growth and evolution and power. And it's so awesome. Like we should dive into this. That's what's fun about it. We're not wrong. We're not idiots. It's just great. We're learning. We're expanding. If we realize that everything in life is learning growth and expansion.
[00:30:14] Then learning new things is part of the process. It's a beautiful thing. It doesn't mean we're idiots. It just means we're growing and we're exploring.
[00:30:22] And finally engage in Socratic questioning, ask probing questions, to uncover deeper understanding and challenge assumptions. Instead of telling people the wrong or arguing with them, ask questions to go deeper into their perspective, understand where they're coming from. Why do they believe those things?
[00:30:38] How did they get to. Believe the things that they do, where do they get his information from, et cetera, et cetera. Questions are an incredible way to explore and understand our fellow humans around us at a deep level.
[00:30:51] And. This all ties together, as I've talked about so much on my shows so far, it's just developing self-awareness and introspection to. Develop our critical thinking abilities. That means. Recognizing and managing our own biases, emotions and motivations that can influence our critical thinking. That's introspectively, reflecting on our thought processes, assumptions, and beliefs, allowing us to better understand the origins of our perspectives and the potential influences on our reasoning.
[00:31:23] And developing awareness and introspection through mindfulness, meditation, journaling, or therapy coaching. All this can lead to a more balanced objective and empathetic, critical thinking. Empathy is so needed in our world. And that's what being a critical thinker can allow us to do is be more empathetic to alternative views that we may not hold.
[00:31:45] The benefits of a brand embracing diverse perspectives and fostering civil discourse is pretty straightforward. It broadens our understanding of the world and allows for a more nuanced and well-rounded perspective on a variety of issues. That's a wonderful thing. That's a good thing for all of us. It challenges, personal assumptions, biases, and blind spots by fostering intellectual growth and adaptive adaptability.
[00:32:08] And promotes empathy, tolerance and compassion by exposing individuals to different experiences, cultures and viewpoints. It contributes to societal progress by encouraging creative problem, solving collaboration and innovation. All of these things are what I'm driving towards. It's why I'm doing what I do, because I want us to get to this point so that we can start creatively solving and collaborating on the problems that we face as a society, as a species.
[00:32:32] These things aren't going to magically go away. So we have to incur, we have to increase our ability to open up to things that we don't understand, or we're afraid of. And start to work towards creative problem solving and solutions for us as a species in a society. If we don't, we're screwed.
[00:32:50] I think something that's key is you, when you're doing this for discourse both online and off as you set guidelines and ground rules. For respectful communication, such as avoiding personal tax refraining from interrupting and actively listening to one another. Do this. I feel sometimes like, as a parent now,
[00:33:07] So much of this has gone out the window, but this is the same type of approach that you have to have with kids. We have to go back to the basics and start treating one another with some dignity and respect, man we dehumanize one another now, like I've never seen before.
[00:33:22] And it's sad, but we can do away with that. My setting some basic ground rules by respecting one another. Don't do the personal attacks and just. Move on. I dealt with a guy on Twitter recently. I was trying to understand his background and his perspective and the feedback that he had because it was very specific, but as I engage with them and I was asking him more questions, he just turned around and started insulting me.
[00:33:46] And attacking me because I wasn't at his level apparently. How are we going to progress like that? All that does also is reveals to you. People's true character, but you don't drop down to their level when people engage like that. But we can elevate the game by not playing that crappy game and rise above it.
[00:34:04] Once he started doing that. I did not respond just FYI. I don't respond to pricks. As much as I can anyway.
[00:34:13] And I think a big thing too, is just focusing on the issues rather than the people we need to focus on the topics at hand, the things that we're dealing with at hand, more than anything else, that's a big difference. Not the person. We focus too much on individuals. And who's saying what as opposed to ideas and thoughts.
[00:34:32] Active listening is critical. Without holding judgment with holding judgment on people and asking clarifying questions. So active listening is a key to this. You get the ground rules set down and when you do you want to paraphrase or summarize the other person's viewpoint to demonstrate that you have genuinely listened and understand their perspective.
[00:34:49] That's another great way to do that. Like guys, we can do so much better. I think another thing to do is model respect of behavior. Be a role model for civil discourse by treating others with respect, even when you disagree with them. So lead by example, that's the most. A powerful way. We can help one another.
[00:35:07] Stay calm and composed during those conversations and avoiding. Engaging in aggressive or condescending behavior. It's hard. Sometimes you trust me. I want to lay into people sometimes, but is that really going to help? Is it going to progress? Are we going to move forward? We have to rise above the muck and this is the way we do it.
[00:35:24] And then when we find that common ground, this allows us to find common ground. Because it focuses on shared values, goals, or concerns as a starting point for the discussions. And use those areas of agreement to build bridges between different viewpoints. There's always common ground that we can find as humans always.
[00:35:42] We should start there and then work through the things that we may disagree on. This is how we emphasize collaboration and problem solving rather than trying to win the argument. And that's all people do these days is focusing on being right or winning. And not about collaborating problem solving and moving forward.
[00:35:59] And then finally that gives us the ability to cultivate empathy and open-mindedness. It puts our by practicing, putting ourselves in some other people's shoes, we can better understand their perspectives and feelings. And we can be willing to revise our own beliefs or opinions based on new evidence, perspectives and insights.
[00:36:19] That's a great thing for society all around. Empathy and active listening is how we bridge this gap and how we overcome a lot of this stuff. Developing empathy for others and actively listening to them and allows us to engage progress and move forward. All right. So I've got a couple more, I've got a couple more sections here. I know we're approaching time. This might be a little bit longer than an episode, but again, there's so much in this and I just, I think it's so important that we cover these things because one, I love this stuff and two.
[00:36:48] It's how we're going to progress as a species. So let's look at some perils of tribalism. And the lack of critical thinking throughout history. And so there's been numerous instances. And here's a notable example, if you notable examples. So the Salem witch trials, 1692 to 1693. And colonial Massachusetts mass hysteria and paranoia led to the prosecution and execution of 20 people, mostly women who were accused of practicing witchcraft.
[00:37:15] The trials were fueled by fear, rumors and superstition. And the lack of critical thinking allowed these false accusations to escalate rapidly causing a mince suffering. And loss of life. Pretty well-known example there. This next one is probably the most prominent example. The Holocaust. 1941 to 1945.
[00:37:38] The Holocaust resulted in the systematic genocide. Of approximately 6 million Jews and millions of other targeted groups by Nazi Germany. Is one of the most tragic examples of tribalism and lack of critical thinking in history. We have to learn from these moments. That's why I'm sharing these things. We have to learn from this.
[00:37:57] Propaganda indoctrination and the scapegoating of Jews. So blaming them for everything that was happening in their society and other minorities. Led to the widespread acceptance of horrific actions and policies. Many people failed to question the dehumanization of targeted groups or challenge the actions of their government. We lost sight of our humanity and it quickly went out of control.
[00:38:17] We're on that path. Now, if we're not careful. That's where we're headed. If we're not careful, if we don't start respecting one another, if we don't start treating each other with dignity. Regardless of our political affiliation.
[00:38:28] This, country's not going to last it can't.
[00:38:32] The Rwandan genocide, 1994 in Rwanda, deep seated tribalism and ethnic tensions between the hit two and Tootsie ethic groups culminated in a horrific genocide that left an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead. And just 100 days. The lack of critical thinking, combined with propaganda and hate speech, fueled the violence and allowed it to escalate rapidly. Again, another example of what happens when we slide into tribalism and we throw critical thinking inside.
[00:39:04] The red scare and McCarthyism. This was in the forties and fifties in the United States. During the early years. To me, this is where we are now in the United States. This. The same thing. But it's internal as opposed to the Soviet stuff, but it's come back. It's very similar. The Russia, everything. That's what this is to me.
[00:39:26] The United States during the early years of the cold war, fear of communism led to a widespread panic known as the red scare Senator Joseph McCarthy exploited this fear leading to a witch hunt for suspected communist and the persecution of many innocent individuals. The lack of critical thinking and tribalism allowed baseless accusations to ruin lives and careers.
[00:39:47] Think about where we are today. Y'all we're not that far off. And then finally the Jonestown massacre. And Ghana over 900 members of the people's temple. Colt led by Jim Jones died in a mass murder suicide. The follower of Jones had become isolated from the outside world and were subjected to indoctrination, manipulation and control.
[00:40:12] The lack of critical thinking and tribalism led these individuals to follow their leader. Unquestioningly ultimately residing. Resulting in their tragic deaths. People took their own lives because of buying into. What Jim Jones was selling without questioning any of it. It's not that crazy that we fall into these situations. Y'all.
[00:40:34] And they highlight these examples, highlight the importance of critical thinking in the dangers of tribalism and society. Developing critical thinking skills and fostering empathy, understanding and open mindedness can help us prevent history from painting itself. And create a more compassionate and informed world. That's my goal.
[00:40:52] That's why I'm doing this.
[00:40:53] All right. The last section here. Y'all.
[00:40:58] Reconnecting with our authentic selves through critical thinking. Explore. It's as you all can tell. It's very important to question the narratives we've been taught, whether they come from culture, society, fam family, we have to challenge and look into what we've been taught. It's beneficial to all of us to question things and explore it. If anyone's fearful of you looking into things, exploring topics, ideas, then it's a reflection of something.
[00:41:26] More likely to be very dangerous. Anyone that's open and honest will not fear. Transparency. People that fear transparency often have something to hide. So you have to be cautious of that. That's why this is so important.
[00:41:41] Critical thinking allows us to examine these narratives, assess their validity, and then discern, which believes truly aligned with our values and experiences.
[00:41:51] And you all know. How much those societal narratives can lead to. By questioning them. It can lead us to personal growth, self discovery and developing this authentic sentence fell. For most of us who want to do incredible things in life, there's a huge current we're going against. So if you're trying to build something and trying to do something with your life, if you're seeking to live a deep life of authenticity,
[00:42:15] You're going to be going against these societal norms and narratives. So questioning them empowers you to live a life of your own.
[00:42:25] And this concept of inner strength and navigating a chaotic world is what all this is about. Critical thinking, engaging with information. It. It allows us to remain resilient, centered, and focused, amidst the challenges and uncertainties. Of life. That's the power that we hold when we build. Critical thinking in our minds, it creates inner strength within us to navigate this chaotic world.
[00:42:52] It enables us to make informed decisions, stand by our convictions and resist the influence of manipulation or misinformation. It also makes you stand out, man. Like you want to be different. Than think for yourself, challenge everything and be open to things.
[00:43:08] And the key here too, is the connection between inner strength and a sense of purpose and direction in our life. When we are inner directed life is unlocked. There's unlimited potential that we can achieve here, and it gives our life so much meaning and critical thinking allows us to do that. It gives us the ability to clarify our goals, our values, our passions, and what we want to pursue.
[00:43:34] And critical digging is tied back to authenticity. With the interplay because it highlights the ability to think critically and allows us to better understand ourselves and the world that we're a part of critical thinking allows us to build that bridge between ourselves and the world. We're connected to.
[00:43:54] It involves making choices and taking actions that align with our true selves, our values, our beliefs, and a process that is supported by critical thinking. All that is supported by critical thinking. When we can align with our values and our beliefs. And. When we nurture our authenticity through reflection, journaling, engaging in open-minded conversations and pursuing.
[00:44:17] Pursuing personal growth and learning. We expand our ability to be true to who we are and live a deep, meaningful life. That's ultimately what it's about is living that deep, rich, meaningful life, because the inner world that we have, the gifts that we've been given y'all are insane. And they're limitless. We have, we are just scratching the surface of what we can do as a species.
[00:44:41] And by developing our critical thinking skills. Understanding common fallacies learning to be more empathetic and open with our fellow humans and engaging in open dialogue by being respectful, empathetic, and actively listening. We can really advance and evolve our society into something that I think none of us.
[00:45:00] Really see how awesome it could be. Because it's so crucial though, for us to D to do this. If we don't, we're going to lose everything that we love, everything that we hold dear. It's just slowly. Well, it's quickly sliding now, but it's, I don't want to lose this wonderful world. The freedom that we're developing.
[00:45:19] The technology that we've advanced and evolved. We got to come back to being human and being connected to one another. And I truly believe that comes from authenticity and critical thinking. And critical thinking is the bridge to our authentic selves because we apply that within our own world. And we can start to apply that to the world all around us.
[00:45:40] All right, Joe. That's all I got for today's show. And that was a deep one who I'm feeling it. I like it. Hopefully you're enjoying the show. I'm available. As I've said, many times, I got some few announcements I'm going to be making here soon. I've got some career stuff that I'm working on. I got a few groups that I'm engaged with. I'm a very excited to share that with you all. If you've been following along, you can get me on Twitter.
[00:46:01] At Brandon Lee ward, I'm on LinkedIn as well. Or you can hit my website@brandonleeward.com. Feel free to email me, obviously sub stack my sub stack here is order within, oh, I'm sorry. Sub stack dot order within.com. If you want to subscribe. To my direct podcast. But otherwise y'all. I hope you're enjoying it. I hope you're enjoying the show. Hope you're learning and growing, and I hope you're attacking and envisioning the life that you want to build for yourself. And you're getting after it and you're working towards.
[00:46:30] Bringing that vision to life, because I can tell you this, you can, if you believe it, and you put in the work day to day. Bit by bit, day by day. We bring those visions to life. Would that being said until next time y'all.
[00:46:45] Thank you for listening to Order Within. If you found the episode helpful, please consider sharing, rating and subscribing. New episodes will be released every Thursday at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard time. Until next time y'all.
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