Socrates Versus the Apes

I am overwhelmed by the incredible number of opinions I am treated to everyday in blogs and columns, some of which I find quite helpful and others not so much. With my logical and opinionated mind, I’ve tried to make sense out of them by dividing them into two categories.

In the first category are those whose authors assert a strong point of view and declare that those not in agreement are wrong. Often such statements are accompanied by colorful metaphors that characterize in less than flattering terms those that might hold an opposing point of view. These authors appear to believe they have found truth and that it is self-evident.

All too often they neglect to define the logic supporting their opinion or pointing out the flaws in others’ arguments. It can be fun to read them when I’m in agreement, sort of like listening to talk radio or cable news. But given the mind’s ability to discount ideas we don’t share, I have a hard time believing that they change anybody’s mind.

This makes it hard for me to understand the purpose of the writing, and so choosing a colorful metaphor of my own, I end up thinking about Jane Goodall’s chimpanzees. In their battle for alpha status, the chimps will often hoot and throw rocks to demonstrate their strength. But then they will become conciliatory and engage in mutual grooming to build the strong relationships social groups thrive on. Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga believes most human behavior is also aimed at creating alpha status. Unfortunately, too many writers don’t get past the hooting.

I, for one, love to read a well reasoned opposition to my opinion. If I’m wrong, I’d like to know it before I do any damage or make a fool out of myself. If I’m right, challenges just force me to make a better case for my position. But there’s also the possibility that I’m not totally right or totally wrong, and then an opposing point of view prompts me to broaden my own thinking.  And that brings me to my second category.

There are writers that really capture the original meaning of the word essay as a trying out of ideas. While they may present strong opinions, they are careful to explain the logic that produced them. When addressing opposing points of view, there’s more of an effort to consider their validity. I think such writing stems from a belief that we’re all seekers after truth and none of us are in sole possession of it.

Socrates is the role model for these writers. While revered (and feared by some) as the wisest of all men during his time, he was careful to assert his ignorance, and to question more than declare. In Plato’s Symposium, we see his belief in a competition of ideas, not to determine whose is better, but to arrive at bigger ideas that incorporate opposing points of view.

As this post shows, I’m not above unsupported opinion and I too favor colorful metaphors. I’m also human and subject to the logical fallacy of seeing the world as black and white when it’s actually gray. Rather than the two categories I’ve proposed, clearly there is a continuum. But perhaps we’d all benefit, regardless of where we are on the continuum, by keeping in mind a lesson I struggle to keep in mind everyday: we have readers.

We owe them, at the very least, writing that is worth their time to read. Either it should entertain or inform, or even better, do both. Ideally, it will make them smarter so that their opinions are well thought out, even if they end up being different than our own.

4 Comments  |  Permalink  |  Posted in Conflict Resolution, Ideas

Comments

  1. Hip & Sage  |  June 21st, 2009

    What to blog, why blog, who is your blog and what do apes and Socrates have to do with it?

    Are you considering starting a blog? Do you blog but question its purpose and most useful point of view? I love this post from Charlie Jacobs, from the Management Rewired blog, called Socrates versus the Apes. Check it out. Here…

  2. Hip & Sage  |  June 21st, 2009

    What to blog, why blog, who is your blog and what do apes and Socrates have to do with it?

    Are you considering starting a blog? Do you blog but question its purpose and most useful point of view? I love this post from Charlie Jacobs, from the Management Rewired blog, called Socrates versus the Apes. Check it out. Here…

  3. Hip & Sage  |  June 21st, 2009

    What to blog, why blog, who is your blog and what do apes and Socrates have to do with it?

    Are you considering starting a blog? Do you blog but question its purpose and most useful point of view? I love this post from Charlie Jacobs, from the Management Rewired blog, called Socrates versus the Apes. Check it out. Here…

  4. Hal Goldberg  |  June 22nd, 2009

    I think you might be interested in my website,
    http://www.hypnosisfocusgroups.com. I also use the technique in management consulting and brainstorming sessions. To a large extent my use of hypnosis in business is based on Konrad Lorenz’s discovery of imprinting, which I believe is closely related to your theories about management.

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