Mason's Meditations

If you're looking for something to chew over, some thoughtful seeds for mental cultivation, bookmark this page for Jeff Mason's fortnightly meditations. To think in or take away...

Number Seven: On Having an Open Mind

We all pride ourselves on having an open mind, but when it comes to dogmatic beliefs, our minds close and become stuck. A dogmatic mind is like a crashed computer, only the static last image remains on the screen. It is nothing to do with etymology, but I see a dogmatic mind as a bulldog that never lets go of what it fastens its teeth into.

So what is so bad having a dogmatic closed mind, and what is so good about having an non-dogmatic open mind? It is impossible to answer this question without taking sides. My side is that of the open mind. Why is this? It is because dogmatism breeds intolerance. Like ideology, dogmatism puts blinkers on what its adherents can see, disables their questioning faculties, and breeds fervor and fanaticism.

Listen to the debates between the political contenders. The issues involved are contentious enough to get people angry. It is easy for feelings to run high when the questions touch people's fundamental beliefs, their fundamental likes and dislikes. It is good that we have politics as a legislated process, for otherwise there would be fighting in the streets.

So what is good about having an open mind? First, having an open mind does not mean that one never comes to any convictions in life. It is perfectly possible to have an open mind and live a very principled life, without holding one's beliefs dogmatically. Having an open mind means being prepared to question even your most central beliefs if there is occasion to do so. It means being open, when the time comes, to having your mind changed by an argument better than one's own. It means being able to think both sides of an issue, both the side you think is true and the side you think is false. It also means being able to suspend your beliefs, to play devil's advocate, and to detach yourself somewhat from your own beliefs, actions and feelings. Only living with an open mind gives us a chance to grow and change, for change is inevitable, while growth, unfortunately, is not.

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Mason's Meditations will next be updated on March 1st 2001

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Previous Meditations

6. The Art of Conversation (1st February 2001)
5. Having, Doing, Being (15th January 2001)
4. The Good of Things (1st January 2001)
3. Is Happiness Overrated? (15th December 2000)
2. The Fiction of Forevermore (1st December 2000)
1. The Art of Living (15th November 2000)