What have you changed your mind about?

Rationality that's not guided by humility isn't actually rational. A fundamental aspect of reason is the constant analysis and synthesis of data, which requires always being open to the possibility that previously or currently held ideas are wrong. Reason is a tool for knowing truth, not a tool for bullying others.

That so many people find reason "insufficient" in life really says much more about the stubbornness of human folly than it does about the truth of reason.

Like one of the commentors, I've changed my mind about the internet. I used to think that the incredible potential for communication would bring about positive, large scale change. But now I see a medium filled with tawdry, vulgar garbage. I've seen estimates that over 90% of all internet traffic is spam, and porno accounts for some of what remains. Even in relatively tame forums like this one, the signal to noise ratio approaches one on occasion.

The internet gives us untold petabytes of information at our fingertips, but yet millions of Americans still think Saddam Hussein bombed the world trade center. Creation science is now some Christians' answer to godless secularism.

Hackers, spammers and ID thieves. Pop-up ads and spyware, adware and malware. New computers are needed to run new operating systems to enforce new copyright schemes on downloaded misogynist rap songs. Even beliefnet has ads for diet gimmicks and wrinkle creams.

And the landfills are choked with with e-waste.

And yet here I am, and there goes five minutes I'll never get back again.

I used to be a red-hot political conservative, believe it or not. I've seen and am seeing too many of my fellow countrymen crash and burn to maintain that position. I now think we need to step up our level of cooperation, probably through our democratically elected government. The corporations aren't cutting it as guardians of the general welfare.

As is well-known, I underwent the opposite political evolution of Cleveland -- believing Ronald Reagan stood up for the little guy or gal, when he didn't and his political heirs most certainly do not.

More generally, I've come to believe (like Rod's fellow conservative, Michael Barone) that politics is not rational, but emotional. Whose benefit that works toward more is probably in the eye of the beholder -- Republicans would say Democrats, Democrats would say Republicans -- but it would behoove both sides to acknowledge the obvious.

I once believed that the future would belong to metrosexuals (of which I was one, once, sort of) and androgynous Annie Lennox types. For all the rhetoric of feminism (and gay rights/civil unions), there is an eternal place in the heart where boys want to be boys and goils want to be goils. (Even if with each other.) And amen to that.

I've become less religious and more spiritual -- and have found that can actually be the calling of people in an avowedly religious order. (Yep, those da*n Jesuits again!)

I've become much more reductionist as a result of my jarring experience with bipolar disorder. I'd never been much of a believer in science. But it's tough to believe in a disengaged soul when a circuit gone wrong in the brain can wreak such havoc in one's life -- and the right pill to modulate that circuitry can make all the difference. (Sidenote: the Americans with Disabilities Act, which I idealistically embraced before I had this disease, is a sick joke.)

I've become much more skeptical of unfettered capitalism. I don't mean just from a partisan point of view, but from the reality I think a lot of people (Republicans too, folks) face in the downsizing age. How can a smart, still fairly young guy with a master's degree (and who doesn't have three heads, contrary to popular belief on CC) be unemployed for almost a year? More generally, how can we have such a prosperous structural economy yet have so many people in homeless shelters, in slums, fighting foreclosure from subprime loans, etc.? (David_TC would say I've answered my own question, and he'd probably be right -- the overdependence of the overall economy on the housing sector for profits rather than just for shelter.)

A sad admission I have to make, which Rod (and others) would probably applaud me on, is that I've realized Islam IS NOT like the Judeo-Christian tradition, despite the three great monotheistic religions' common belief in Abraham. It doesn't mean I or anyone should be prejudiced against Muslims in our everyday lives; it just means I have to recognize that to reach common ground with Muslims requires them to have had some, even slight, leavening influence (Western or South/Southeastern Asian traditions) on the solipsistic Wahhabi heart of Islam that is Saudi Arabia -- and that has produced Osama Bin Laden, madrassas, four wars against Israel, $100-a-barrel oil, etc., etc.

The famous folks' answers were interesting, too. If Sam Harris believes G-d = Mother Nature at its most disastrous, no wonder he hates G-d. Richard Dawkins said he embraces the scientist's ability to change his or her mind, yet is obstinate about atheism. Daniel Goldman had a fascinating anecdote about Tibetan monks.

And I laughed out loud at Brian Eno's (non-ironic, apparently) essay on his radical change from belief in Maoism to belief in the EC. (WHAT radical change, sayeth Rod?)

"He uses as an example the debate over genetically-modified crops to talk about how the wisdom of tradition is foolishly neglected by experts who have an unwarranted confidence in humankind's ability to control things."

Yeah, like seedless watermelons. Yup, America hates genetically modified foods. As if.

What have I changed? I've become far more cynical as regards the intelligence of the average voter.

I would say that a number of proffered changes of mind are pretty weak- particularly of the scientists- mere developments of knowledge or movement over a gradation of opinion, rather than distinct reversals of previously held positions.

For myself, I changed my mind on the moral stature of animals. I conceived animals as being mere biological machines, without consciousness or moral stature; I changed my mind after reading Matthew Scully's book Dominion, though to a more moderate position than his.

"I used to be a red-hot political conservative [but] corporations aren't cutting it as guardians of the general welfare."

Susan, dear heart, you were never a conservative. We conservatives never thought of corporations as "guardians of the general welfare." That's the job of government and charities.

Corporations are neutral constructs. They are merely a free society's way of encouraging risk takers to enter the market in order to provide profits for the risk takers, taxes for government social services, paychecks for willing workers, and the best damn economic system this old world has ever seen.

They also act as whipping boys and deep pockets for Socialists and their kissing cousins-- Democrats, plaintiff's attorneys and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition--to the detriment of our country.

This year I've learned to redefine Intelligence.

My oldest son has a still-not-fully-diagnosed learning disability. I've learned from him more than I can express.
1) When you have a child, your heart walks around outside of your body.

2) Learning disabilities/Autism can be an all consuming heartache. But Courage, humor, determination, patience and love will get you much further than being a perfect speller. Love is very hard some times.

We are all very very fortunate to have the gift of a clear mind. It should never be taken for granted. But a clear mind or 'superior' intelligence is not the only gift and it may not even be the best.

3) When we are walking around blind to our own faults, other people know them and love us anyways. Amazing.

4) Beyond reason and dreams, prayer and action . . . is waiting on God, patiently. And God is there. To teach us through sufficiency and insufficiency. Probably the latter more so.

5) And the smile of a baby or the love of a child really can take EVERY sorrow away.

Love Peace Joy to all. Merry 10th day of Christmas and a blessed New Year.

OK, but let's try to keep this thread focused on our own individual instances of mind-changing, not critiquing others'. I don't want this thread to break down into squabbling over the nature of liberalism or conservatism.

OK Rod. And HEY, thanks for not deleting my response. Maybe tolerance and diversity will be honored here in the new year.

I've become far more cynical as regards the intelligence of the average voter.

Hey, Max, welcome to the club, good sir. [Took you a while, eh?]

Sheilagh, my wife has been teaching children like your son for 35 years, and I can state with complete confidence that you are exactly the type of parent she wishes for her students.

I look back on my life, and at the risk of looking like I'm patting myself on the back (again), the value I hold true above all others is the ability to change my mind... or, rather, to have a strong enough ego that others can change my mind.

I can be as stubborn as the best of them (as Cleveland and others here can attest). That is the surface image of the strong ego. Mea maxima culpa. But, in the end, it's that strength that I value as a primary support for adaptation. The lesson we -- as a species, as a civilization, as a society and culture -- never quite learn is that the status quo is the most dangerous place to be. I hasten to add that I see that as a Good Thing, because the best lessons are those we learn in contemplation of recent events whilst cleaning up after the bloody nose, or finally finding a place to catch our breath, or surveying the damage done by even the best-meaning actions.

Me? Ha, if you can believe it, I've gotten to where I am via a trip through libertarianism, when I was young and very stupid, and mild disillusioned atheism overlapping that time.

But I realized that we all have a purpose in life, and it is not to shut ourselves off but to love others. And then I realized this was, in fact, the message of Jesus, the second most important law, not the anger and condemnation that the church I grew up in often displayed. So I decided to go along with the first most important law and that seems to be working out well.

Interesting fact: I've voted Libertarian in the last two presidential elections, the only ones I've been able to vote in (Missed 96 by a month.), even though I think they're crazy uninformed people like I was. This is because I live in Georgia and know we won't send a Democrat, but in 2000 I was trying to send a message to both parties about the insanity of the drug war, and in 2004 they were the only people saying Iraq was stupid.

This is a great topic for a discussion -- I read Rod's post yesterday evening but wanted some time to think about what I've changed my mind about.

I would say that, as I've grown older (I'm 52 now) I've come to see that no one has that much control. I do definitely believe in free will but I think the flip side of that is that no one is really in charge.

There was a time (when my politics were more left-wing) when I believed that "the Bourgeoise," or "U.S. Imperialism" or "Multi-National Corporations" were running things.

These days I believe the world is much more complicated than that. The beauty of this philosophy, IMO, is that it makes it much easier to view the world as complex. "Us" and "Them" don't really exist, only "We." The blog poster who mentioned Pogo down below had it right. "We have met the enemy and He is Us." Responsibility and accountability still exist and are very important, but no one human being has ultimate control, therefore no one has ultimate responsibility.

I no longer believe the Abrahamic religions all worship the same God; even within the relatively narrow confines of Christianity, there are tremendously important differences in our understanding of God. My understanding has little in common with the God of the prosperity gospels or the God of Falwell et al who has somehow designated the US as a unique, special nation.

I no longer have my simplistic belief that socio-economic injustice is the explanation for all political and social problems in this world. (I'd still love to see us give it the old college try for a change though :-)

The '90s taught me that the the worries I had about the US in the '80s were largely misplaced; I underestimated the US and overestimated Japan, for example. While the '00s are making me nervous again, I'm trying to keep in mind that for all I could lament and worry about the state of this country and its people, I should never despair.

I used to think "right thinking" would lead to "right actions". Now I'm more convinced that "right actions" will get me to "right thinking".

How unfortunate, Cleveland, that I was just about to post. Hey presto, once again you're in that skidding handbasket to Hell!

I've changed my mind about things too numerous to enumerate. A sample:

I used to think that corporal punishment of children was necessary . . . or, at least, acceptable in some way. I changed my mind about that over 30 years ago, when I looked into the eyes of my firstborn. It is abuse to slap, whip, spank, hit, cuff, jerk, shove, or scream at a child. It is abuse to do anything to your child that you wouldn’t dare do to a fellow adult. (With the possible exception of picking them up tenderly in your arms and carrying them away from the scene of a meltdown . . . but then, you probably couldn’t do that to an adult even if you dared!) I now believe the prevalence of such behavior is one of the prime causes of violence and harm in society.

I used to think I was a feminist, and quite a daring one, simply because I thought women should receive equal pay for equal work, and should be given an opportunity to prove we could do the work equally. I came to understand that I was not a feminist, but merely a tool of the patriarchy. I’ve changed my mind about that. Now I am a feminist.

I used to think I was not a racist. Understanding the real position of women in society forced me to understand, as well, the real position of people of color. Now I know that, just as a man occupies a position of male privilege in relation to women, whether he wants that or not, whether he acknowledges that or not, so I, as a white person, occupy a position of white privilege whether I want it or not. Even when black people dislike white people, that doesn’t put them in a reciprocal position with a white racist.

I used to think I had to hold my nose and vote Republican, no matter what, because by definition Democrats simply had to be worse. Two years ago, a rational, compassionate Democratic congressional candidate came to the door. I had a cordial conversation with her and realized that she was so much better than the bloviating stuffed shirt Republican on the other side. I could not in conscience deny the evidence of my own senses. I put a “Vote Democratic” yard sign up for the first time in my life. I then took a further step and voted against Rick Santorum. Wahoo! did that feel good. Suddenly there was more color in the sky and the air I breathed seemed fresher. There has been no going back.

I used to think it was necessary to go to Mass at an official Roman Catholic Church every Sunday, or be sent to Hell. I’ve changed my mind about that. I used to believe there was an actual omnipotent being who would throw me into a pit of fire for failing to attend the church service of His preference. I’ve changed my mind about that. Strangely, I still sometimes feel a pang of horror as I catch myself wondering if that irate Jehovah does exist after all. But I fear my own capacity for believing things that are patently insane more than I do this hypothetical deity.

I used to believe that Yahweh/Jehovah was categorically different from other gods worshipped by other people, and that the myths handed down about him held a unique, privileged position compared to other sacred writings. I’ve changed my mind about that. Some mythic writings may well be more “true” than others. To establish their relative value, however, one would have to examine them all with the same set of criteria.

I used to believe firmly that there was a God, and that although He technically “loved” me, He did not like me very much. Now I’m not so sure there is a God, but I think that if She does exist, She enjoys me and my antics and is quite fond of me.

I used to believe that people made decisions based on rational principles, exercising free will in doing so. I’ve changed my mind about that. Now I see that many of our reasons are in fact rationalizations for what we were going to do anyway, and that many of our choices are genetically and socially constrained to such a degree that there’s very little philosophical freedom involved. I think this is going to become more and more obvious as new technologies enable us to see deeper into genes and brain function.

I used to think conservatives were the good guys. I’ve changed my mind about that. And I have to thank many of the people on this blog for clarifying my thought. If you perceive this as an ambiguous compliment, you are indeed perceptive.

I used to believe there were heroes and saints I should not question because they were way better than me. Now I see them as human beings, sometimes with admirable characteristics, but never truly different from what I am--human. And many of them were similar to me in another way--they were NUTS. ; ) It's not safe to cultivate unquestioning devotion to any fellow human.

I used to think my uncles were just ignorant when they said that Republicans were not favorable to the working man. I changed my mind. They were working men; they knew whereof they spoke.

I used to believe that only Nazis and Communists brainwashed people, and that I was definitely not brainwashed myself. I changed my mind about that. I now see that it is surprisingly easy to brainwash people, and that it happens every day.

I have lost almost every certainty I’ve had in my life. What bothers me most, however, is not that loss, but the fact that I could have been so stupid for so long. The one thing I haven’t changed my mind about is that I exist for love's sake and I have to work hard at this. I may be wrong about that, too, but if so I will not find out until it's too late to change my mind.

I used to be disgusted. Now I try to be amused.
And since their wings have gotten rusted . . .
You know the angels want to wear my red shoes.”

Damn, Max S, I'm sorry. That was a rookie mistake, not looking at the name of the person to whom I thought I was responding. There's no excuse for it. :-(

Cleveland, if the person being judged has not previously earned my respect, then I am disinclined to believe anything he says, one way or the other. That holds true for me especially in politics. The poster boy for the word oxymoron is a politician who holds himself accountable, no caveats, no evasions.

... well, that's not really fair. I happen to know a politician or two who has integrity, honesty, and the ability to sincerely own up to mistakes and attempt to make good on them. I think of them, though, as the exceptions that illustrate the rule.