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Quote:
Originally Posted by blade02
"To think that being open minded is the best way to go, you first have to be closed minded enough to believe that open-mindedness is the best way to go. So it contradicts itself right from the get go."
It makes sense to me.
"Open mindedness" is just a synonym for "I have no firm convictions." When one proclaims open-mindedness, it is typically intended to set one apart from "close-mindedness," which is pejorative. "Open-mindedness" is a claim that implies intellectual superiority.
Proclaiming "open-mindedness" means there is only one thing to be sure about, and that is that there are no firm conclusions. The irony here is that so-called open-mindedness is actually a refusal to think about things in a certain way. It could even be argued that "open-mindedness" is a refusal to think at all, because thinking requires making distinctions and categorizing; judging and arriving at conclusions. Maintaining an "open-mind" requires a dogmatic faith that there are no firm conclusions.
William F. Buckley said it clearer (and with many fewer words) than I could ever hope to:
“The purpose of an open mind is to close it, on particular subjects. If you never do — you've simply abdicated the responsibility to think.”
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Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
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