Introduction excerpt:
"People worldwide seem less open to talking with those holding opposing viewpoints. In conversations, some give one-line responses, others interrupt mid-sentence, and the rest nod, avoiding engagement.
Most people don't even question their beliefs. Socrates famously explored why people believe what they do, questioning answers until reaching 'aporia,' or point of puzzlement. Centuries later, our willingness to think critically—beyond the first thought that comes to mind—seems to decline. If someone tweets something, we conclude it must be true.
Social media amplifies this phenomenon. The world spends an average of 143 minutes per day on social media. Algorithms determine what we see based on our actions, likes, and thoughts. The more time we spend on a platform, the better it predicts what will keep us engaged, often showing us the information we agree with. Over a year, most people spend 52,195 minutes reinforcing their existing beliefs rather than challenging them.
If critical thinking were a habit, we could spend those minutes refining, discrediting, or dropping our ideas by exposing ourselves to contrasting ones. But a world that doesn't question its beliefs won't question an algorithm tailored to amplify them.
I believe we are in a worse position now than in the past, but we have never been great thinking critically. For most recorded history, we let religions, governments, and the media tell us what to believe. These institutions have lost their monopolies, mainly due to the internet's offer of infinite plausible answers. Instead of using this chance to think on our own, we let movements resembling religions tells us what to think, value, and strive for:
I mentioned that we are now worse off despite our historical lack of critical thinking because the abundance of endless belief systems in a society that does not question them leads to new consequences. Today, people within the same household often have opposing meanings and purposes in life, rituals, and community practices. This fragmentation makes social cohesion, cooperation, and collective action more difficult. Combined with a lack of critical thinking, the challenge seems insurmountable.
I'm not quite ready to tackle the issue of social cohesion, but I'm considering the idea that if people are searching for alternatives to traditional belief systems, we could promote critical thinking and avoid the negative consequences of not using this skill by incorporating elements of religion into lifelong learning. This integration might have benefits in promoting critical thinking and improving societal cohesion.
I will first expand on what I mean by turning education into a religion and then dive into its potential benefits and how it could look."
