Posted by: Konran
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[–] Erudite_Scholar 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I would not say that this 'majority of people' lack intellect or are mentally inferior as that would only be elevating oneself and one's ingroup to seem more special than the outgroup, the people mentioned in the title. I would say, on the other hand, that they lack certain education, and an understanding of persuasion.
Long ago Aristotle laid out three primary means of persuasion that are still relevant today. Pathos, ethos, and logos. In very simplified terms pathos would be emotional, ethos would be credibility or authority, and logos as logic and reasoning.
As far as psychology and brain chemistry are concerned, making use of the third means, logos, requires the most resources or effort. Willpower would be considered limited and it takes an act of will to think through arguments and statements and form one's own opinion.
In our society the media, government, or public figures are automatically considered to have a certain level of ethos, credibility or authority, providing persuasiveness, compared to the general public or even one's own ideas. On top of this, accepting the dictates of one with ethos requires very little work or effort on one's own part, as very little resources need to be spent if one just accepts what they are told, and usually comes with the benefit of the agreement of one's peers or society that are similarly influenced.
On top of that, this type of rhetoric is usually performed as an appeal to pathos, emotion, playing on public fears such as being killed by terrorism or the threat of harm to children. This appeal is usually disguised by a thin veil of logos, logic, by skewing the facts to make a proposition seem reasonable or necessary such as acting as though there is a much greater chance of a terrorist attack then there really is or that there are predators everywhere and one cannot leave children alone. When the majority of publicized narrative can be controlled nonissues can seem not only relevant but in need of everyone's direct action and attention and real issues that affect the majority of the populace can be marginalized to the extent that the public ignores them. In this way all three, primary categories of persuasion are tapped and utilized to control public discourse and opinion.
This control of narrative can be used to not only push an agenda but to convince the public to ostracize or label as crazy those that would propose a differing opinion to the official narrative no matter how much evidence is brought to bear to support a claim.
I said at the beginning that people lack education and understanding, but that is something that can be changed. People can learn, adapt, and evolve. Their views and understanding of the world can grow over time, just as the person in Plato's Allegory of the Cave, even if the process is difficult or uncomfortable.
The only real solution, that I can see, to this is to educate the majority of people on what persuasion is, how to persuade others, and how to think critically. Critical thinking courses and an understanding of the mind and society should be taught throughout one’s schooling life, from an early age, through classes in philosophy, psychology, and sociology. Basic rationality with an understanding in biases, heuristics, logical fallacies, and how indoctrination works should be standard, not the exception relegated only to those that go out of their way to learn these things.
I see education reform in order to create a critical thinking populace as the best way to create a stable and prosperous society that can act in both humanity’s short-term and long-term interest.
Sorry for the wall of text. I know this went beyond the original question, but I think it is important to not only understand the problem but the solution as well.
I would like to plug School of Thought. In the past I ran across this group, whose views were similar to my own, and it was heartening to see a group working towards one of the same aims as I.
[–] Konran [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Great post. Thanks for the link too. Please don't apologise.
Reading through your thoughts I was reminded of the quote from Francis Bacon, 'Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority'. Although it depends on the authority and also if we are given enough time!
Anwyay, I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment and feel our current educational institutions are acting like mind-prisons to different degrees. As a professional within education I have been lucky in that I have total freedom (more or less) to deliver my classes in a bespoke manner, and I enjoy pushing the limits of my students intellectual comfort zones. Simply asking someone to imagine they are in the shoes of someone else can help break certain mind patterns. In my experience examining philosophical questions and gaining a deeper understanding of what it is to be human at an early age are essential if we are to have any hope of achieving a better world for all.
[–] Erudite_Scholar 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Taking another perspective is a good approach; once you have reason everything else does come down to perspective. I like to use the Socratic approach to facilitate reason and encourage others to form their own opinions by continuing to ask questions like why and how.
In any case, I'm glad you feel the same and are making a difference with your students.