Is Being Too Open-Minded Harmful?

[sweep_shot]

I think it is harmful to be very open-minded just like it is harmful to be close-minded. I think balance is the key.

Has there ever been an occasion when your open-mindedness caused you harm?

 

[RajBan]

I think it is harmful to be very open-minded just like it is harmful to be close-minded. I think balance is the key.

Has there ever been an occasion when your open-mindedness caused you harm?

What do you mean by open minded? Maybe some examples will help.

 

[sweep_shot]

What do you mean by open minded? Maybe some examples will help.

It can mean many things.

In a nutshell, it may mean acceptance of things that are considered ridiculous or even harmful.

For instance, there is a group called "Flat Earth Society". These people believe Earth is flat. One of them died a few months ago while trying to prove Earth is flat. You can read about it here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51602655.

This is just one example.

 

[street cricketer]

Depends on the environment. Being open minded can be harmful if you live in a society where there's no freedom of speech and tolerance.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

There have to be constraints to thought otherwise chaos reigns. Precedence shouldn't restrict thought but it has to be within parameters.

 

[Robert]

I think it is harmful to be very open-minded just like it is harmful to be close-minded. I think balance is the key.

Has there ever been an occasion when your open-mindedness caused you harm?

Sometimes I have trusted undeserving people too much. And old boss said “You’re a lovely fella Rob, you only see the good in people.”

 

[RajBan]

It can mean many things.

In a nutshell, it may mean acceptance of things that are considered ridiculous or even harmful.

For instance, there is a group called "Flat Earth Society". These people believe Earth is flat. One of them died a few months ago while trying to prove Earth is flat. You can read about it here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51602655.

This is just one example.

Ofcourse one has to draw their own line I guess if it is not harming others or exploiting others, then that can atleast be discussed even if there are disagreement.

 

[sweep_shot]

Sometimes I have trusted undeserving people too much. And old boss said “You’re a lovely fella Rob, you only see the good in people.”

I see.

I used to be like you too. There were folks who took advantage of my open-mindedness in the past.

I think there should be a fine line between open-mindedness and practicality.

 

[Third_Umpire]

It can mean many things.

In a nutshell, it may mean acceptance of things that are considered ridiculous or even harmful.

For instance, there is a group called "Flat Earth Society". These people believe Earth is flat. One of them died a few months ago while trying to prove Earth is flat. You can read about it here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51602655.

This is just one example.

Defying science is not being open minded, it’s being idiotic.

 

[KB]

I guess you could argue that in some instances too much open-mindedness can lead to indecision. In this sense it is an interesting question. But looking at the contemporary world in the age of social media, it is not an excess of open-mindedness that appears to be a problem but the very opposite. We can all be a little too close-minded.

We choose ‘our side’ often based on feelings or instinct. We are then attracted to evidence or points of view which support ‘our side’. And this not about intelligence. The intelligent can be better at finding and filtering evidence to support their view. As the French satirist Molière once wrote, ‘a learned fool is more foolish than an ignorant one’. When confronted with evidence which points to a different view to the one we hold, rather than saying ‘this is interesting’, we see it as a threat to our self-worth, so we double down on our existing viewpoint. We do not like to admit that we might be wrong.

We might therefore ask a different question: how do we become more open-minded? I would think through a genuinely curious mindset and by being humble.