Sunday, March 26, 2017

Humility and Knowing Truth

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                               

"The most important component of . . . critical thinking that is lacking in our society today is humility.  It is a simple yet profound notion: if we realize we don't know everything, we can learn.  If we think we know everything, learning is impossible.  Somehow, our educational system and our reliance on the Internet has led to a generation of kids who don't know what they don't know.  If we can accept that truth, we can educate the American mind, restore civility, and disarm the plethora of weaponized lies threatening our world.  It is the only way democracy can prosper."  (my emphasis)

                                       --  Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era,
                                                                        by Daniel J. Levitin (2016), pp. xviii-xix