A Problem With Ideologies
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:34 pm
I'm pretty tired right now, so I'll probably flesh this post out in much greater detail tomorrow or Wednesday.
It's pretty hard to change someone's ideology. After reading my friend's book (which is honestly the worst book I have ever read), I've learned the following thing about ideologies:
Do not associate yourself with any ideology, whether it'd be religious, political, or economic.
At a cursory glance, ideologies seem like a useful and even good thing; It's a person's beliefs about the world and what they believe ought to be done, and how they ought to achieve it. Some people would think this is a good thing, as it inspires social change and revolution, and looks to bring a better tomorrow for everyone.
Here's an issue with that: Since ideologies are often associated with religion and politics, two things based heavily on faith, it becomes more about dogmatic thinking than useful science or ethical ventures. Along with being based on faith, religion and politics are also a source of identity for people, so when you criticize someone's beliefs, you're criticizing their identity, and thusly, you're criticizing them.
People must not root these things to their identities, as it usually becomes impossible to change their minds. Beliefs should not be a part of you, they should be something you carry around and are willing to dispose of and replace if you encounter something even better. The way I see it, you can say you agree with an ideology, respecting its ideals, and you agree with them due to an actual part of your identity (usually being, you're a moral person and want to do good).
Look at this here forum: We're not vegans because it's our ideology (though Carnap would likely beg to differ on that point), rather it stems from a desire to do the most good, and we have determined that veganism is the best solution to doing the most good due to the insane amount of versatility it has in various fields of altruism and activism (environmental, ethical, health benefits).
So, if you believe that Jesus is God and was crucified and yadda yadda yadda, don't say you're a Christian, say that you follow the teachings of Jesus and the Bible (or something along those lines). If you believe in work'ers control over means of production, don't say you're a Democratic Socialist, say you believe that Democratic Socialism would be the best system to implement.
Sorry if this post came out half assed. What do you think?
It's pretty hard to change someone's ideology. After reading my friend's book (which is honestly the worst book I have ever read), I've learned the following thing about ideologies:
Do not associate yourself with any ideology, whether it'd be religious, political, or economic.
At a cursory glance, ideologies seem like a useful and even good thing; It's a person's beliefs about the world and what they believe ought to be done, and how they ought to achieve it. Some people would think this is a good thing, as it inspires social change and revolution, and looks to bring a better tomorrow for everyone.
Here's an issue with that: Since ideologies are often associated with religion and politics, two things based heavily on faith, it becomes more about dogmatic thinking than useful science or ethical ventures. Along with being based on faith, religion and politics are also a source of identity for people, so when you criticize someone's beliefs, you're criticizing their identity, and thusly, you're criticizing them.
People must not root these things to their identities, as it usually becomes impossible to change their minds. Beliefs should not be a part of you, they should be something you carry around and are willing to dispose of and replace if you encounter something even better. The way I see it, you can say you agree with an ideology, respecting its ideals, and you agree with them due to an actual part of your identity (usually being, you're a moral person and want to do good).
Look at this here forum: We're not vegans because it's our ideology (though Carnap would likely beg to differ on that point), rather it stems from a desire to do the most good, and we have determined that veganism is the best solution to doing the most good due to the insane amount of versatility it has in various fields of altruism and activism (environmental, ethical, health benefits).
So, if you believe that Jesus is God and was crucified and yadda yadda yadda, don't say you're a Christian, say that you follow the teachings of Jesus and the Bible (or something along those lines). If you believe in work'ers control over means of production, don't say you're a Democratic Socialist, say you believe that Democratic Socialism would be the best system to implement.
Sorry if this post came out half assed. What do you think?