How reasonable is it to believe you can hear and consider the meaning of other arguments if you live by conviction?
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Parsec13
ANSWERS: 8
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I don't think it is reasonable to believe you can be objective if you live by conviction. If you have a conviction, by definition you are convinced to a certainty of something. What seems to happen is people get very attached to their convictions so that it is a part of them, and cannot be changed without considerable upheaval. A lot of times people aren't willing to undergo all that upheaval so they dismiss anything perceived as threatening to that conviction. Conviction doesn't seem to allow for the fact that we are (or should be?) works in progress that continue to change and evolve. I'm seeking values, by definition, any object or quality desirable as a means or as an end in itself, for example, valuing life, valuing personal responsibility, valuing freedom as a basis for making judgments in my life. This allows me to expand or refine my behavior and ideas and listen to other views. Of course, a lot here depends on how you define your terms, which is why I have spelled that out.
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Why can't you be convicted (spiritually/emotionally speaking) when you hear an argument that strikes you or "moves you" in a certain way?
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Why does having and living by your convictions have to mean you are close minded to other peoples points of view? I see my convictions as something I live by but not necessarily things that are right for other people. I am open to listening to other points of view and even changing if I find them to be something worthwhile for me. A conviction is merely your values ethics etc that you live by and like all things in our lives we are still learning about them which means like anything else they are subject to change. The only wrong I see is when people change them only when it means they will gain something physical from it.
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Don't think too much into it, it'll drive you crazy. Decide if you're going to go with the feeling or not & then stick to it. Don't keep second guessing everything. Everyone believes in SOMETHING that can't be proven or explained. You can stillconsider yourself a reasonable person & have that thing in your life that you just believe in for no other reason than you believe in it. It doesn't mean you've gone completely off the deep end, unless of course you DO do off the deep end. So decide exactly how far you're going to take this thing (whatever it is) that moved you. Decide where you're going to draw the line now before you make any commitments, etc. I suggest you not relocate or anything drastic, but try not to always look for logic - life's not interesting that way.
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I think it's important to live with conviction, but a healthy conviction involves critical examination from time to time and openness to new perspectives or information. When someone closes their mind to debate and information, they are no longer convicted but closed off. They begin to use their beliefs as a shield against research and thought. When someone says "No one can convince me..." they're effectively saying they refuse to consider anything new. Conviction or belief kept from the light of day like that will soon wither.
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conviction: 1. firmly held belief: a belief or opinion that is held firmly 2. firmness of belief: firmness of belief or opinion http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861600099 a firmly held belief or opinion. the quality of showing that one is convinced of what one believes or says. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/conviction?view=uk a strong belief that is not likely to change, or the strong feeling that your beliefs are right http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=conviction*1+0&dict=A When you are "convincing" someone, you are trying to change that person's mind, or "conviction." A person who lives by conviction is not likely to be convinced or consider the meaning of other arguments.
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Einstein had indicated that he felt/believed in his theories of Relativity long before he ever could prove them. The same man also never stopped trying to debunk Quantum Mechanics, as in his famous 'God does not play dice' statement. Convictions, for me, are ones that bear scrutiny & still hold up.
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Certainty do ruin a good intellectual adventure, don't it? ;-)
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