The discipline of hearing and evaluating ideas is central to human existence. It means the difference between believing what is true or what is not. In consequence, conducting this discipline well should be a focus of those who follow Christ. It is the discipline of intellectual discernment.
There is a certain aspect of this discipline about which I have wanted to put down my thoughts for a while. I want to argue for the desirability of what I will call “open-mindedness.”
Open-mindedness is the willingness to consider ideas, especially those that do not conform to previously held ideas. It is the ability to say, “That idea might be true,” to examine it, and to accept or reject it based on certain grounds.
Open-mindedness is desirable for at least three reasons. The first reason will serve as a foundation for the second and third.
First and most importantly, open-mindedness is desirable because it is necessary for understanding. If you are not willing to temporarily concede a person’s presuppositions, to acknowledge the faults of your own ideas, and to honestly consider his propositions, you cannot truly understand his position. Even if you are able to repeat his arguments back to him satisfactorily, you may not really understand them. There must be a connection of intellects, what Mortimer Adler calls a “meeting of minds.” You must attempt climb inside his head and see everything from his perspective. This is the core of real understanding and it cannot be achieved without the willingness to say, “This proposition might be true.”
Second, open-mindedness is desirable because the proposition in question might indeed be true. It really might be! A person who never changes his mind is a person who will never get very close to the truth. I used to think that the “Old West” was a geographical location (but not a temporal one as well) to which I could simply “go” and see all the cowboys, Indians, saloons, etc. I am glad that I exercised enough open-mindedness to allow this idea to be reformed.
Third, open-mindedness is desirable because it is essential to responsible criticism. Ineffective criticism can almost always be traced to either incomplete research or a lack of open-mindedness. The person who approaches a proposition thinking, “This is incorrect and I am just trying to determine why” will always critique ineffectively because he will fail to truly understand the proposition. And the critique will also be ineffective because no one of another viewpoint will listen with an open mind to the criticism of a closed mind.
What I have said needs some tempering. Open-mindedness does not call for intellectual insecurity. It does not call for a life of doubt. It simply calls for responsibility and honesty. Some ideas can be rejected are accepted more quickly than others. We do not need to reinvent our philosophy every time a new idea is introduced. All I ask is that new ideas be heard fairly. Temporarily concede the presuppositions and responsibly examine the propositions. Carefully open your mind and say, “This idea might be true.” It will lead to genuine understanding, more truthful thinking, and more effective criticism.
