{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-blog-post-js","path":"/truth-vs-belonging","result":{"data":{"markdownRemark":{"id":"f6c27eda-e5d9-5d19-b188-b1269431ed38","html":"
\n

He who thinks he knows, doesn't know. He who knows that he doesn't know, knows. - Joseph Campbell

\n
\n

This is a terrible quote. Illogical, circular nonsense. Right?

\n

But hear me out on this: *truth-seeking* and *belonging* are mutually exclusive.

\n

Here it goes…

\n

If \"truth\" is what is most important to you, then being part of any group or having personal investment in any labels or identities puts you in conflict with that aim. This view is that the more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you. The less concerned we are with our identity, however, the more chance we have to be objective. Having truth as our highest priority doesn't mean we absolutely eschew ALL labels, just that we seek to minimize them.

\n

However, if \"belonging\" to a particular set of groups or tribes is more important to you, you will encounter discomfort (or at least some dissonance) whenever the norms, status, or validity of your group or identities are challenged. Luckily, if belonging to a tribe is more important to you than truth, confirmation bias runs to the rescue in order to help maintain your self-concept, because you are personally invested in the labels you have attached to your identity. That's perfectly fine, as long as it is not taken to the extreme where anyone who disagrees with you is \"dumb\" or the enemy.

\n

A strong \"Us vs. Them\" perspective is the dangerous realm of cult members lacking empathy. Threats to our identit(ies) are perceived as personal attacks, leading to defensiveness.

\n

No one is entirely above this, myself included (cue the obvious warring factions, e.g. Ford vs. Chevy, Mac vs. PC, Coastal vs. Inland, Emacs vs. Vim, Keto vs. Vegan, West vs. East, and on and on...)

\n

However, to avoid being too black and white myself, this is a spectrum. We all have varying levels of value placed on truth-seeking vs. belonging. Unless you are a sociopath, we all need some level of belonging and social approval. Yet, I hope we can move away from that. The culture would be A LOT better off if we all could at least *acknowledge* the unfortunate attachments we have to our labels, fully understanding that they blind us from reality. Again, the more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.

\n

In a postmodern view of truth, maybe that is not attainable anyway.

\n

It's like the six blind men and an elephant parable or the Allegory of the Cave. Each of them deduced their own truth based upon their own observations, made completely in good faith. \"🤯\" None of them were intentionally lying, yet their seemingly objective truths were different. Very few things in life are capital \"L\" Scientific Laws. Even Newtonian dynamics reside within a restricted domain.

\n

But if truth-seeking was our culture's overriding value, whether we could actually achieve it or not (and we can't really, in the absolute sense), along the way we would become less dogmatic, more understanding, and less fragile. (Speaking of fragile, there are too many \"❄️\" 'snowflakes' these days on both sides of the political spectrum, for example.... \"😂\". Is that lacking empathy? \"🤦‍♂️\")

\n

However, being totally uncertain about everything is ineffective and impractical.

\n

So the solution? The quip often heard in tech circles of \"Strong Opinions, Loosely Held\" (applied responsibly) is my current best answer. That is what I strive to live by, where I am truly always open to being completely wrong, even with regard to my sacred cows.

\n

This leads to complicated situations where I find that I do not align well with any one group. But the world is a complex place. And my sense of \"belonging\" suffers as a result. However, where pragmatic, I need to balance openness with conviction. So, where I decide to charge ahead with \"strong opinions,\" the intent is to do it without being personally or emotionally invested in any \"belonging\" that might blind me.

\n

Practically, we all need a strategy, which means choosing what we will do and what we will not do. Strategy means forcing the tough trade-offs. That's what \"Strong Opinions\" means to me.

\n

Being rudderless because \"who knows what is true anyway, we are all probably wrong\" is impractical and ineffective. However, making pragmatic choices in pursuit of our chosen strategy for life must be tempered when it starts to overlap with an emotional investment as part of our identity.

\n

Anything outside of us that has become a part of our identity will lead to pain. We do not control what is external, so I believe we must minimize the number of outside labels that define our identity.

\n

By keeping our identity small and evolving, we will be much more resilient in an ever-changing world.

\n

Bringing it back to this ridiculous Joseph Campbell quotation...

\n

Embracing \"not knowing\" – and at risk of sounding too granola – sitting in the wonder and awe of all God created and the miraculous and unfathomable unfolding of the cosmos, is in fact \"knowing.\"

","excerpt":"He who thinks he knows, doesn't know. He who knows that he doesn't know, knows. - Joseph Campbell This is a terrible quote. Illogical, circular…","frontmatter":{"date":"July 30, 2020","slug":"truth-vs-belonging","title":"Truth-Seeking vs. Belonging: Forcing Tough Trade-Offs","description":"*He who thinks he knows, doesn't know. He who knows that he doesn't know, knows.*","featuredImage":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":2.573529411764706,"src":"/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/b039a/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg","srcSet":"/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/3ad57/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 350w,\n/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/79ba3/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 700w,\n/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/06051/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 1050w,\n/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/b7743/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 1400w,\n/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/b039a/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 1980w,\n/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/22ad3/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg 2050w","sizes":"(max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px","maxHeight":753,"maxWidth":1980},"sizes":{"src":"/static/5c3b2d75a05c15cba328d2953761d645/14b42/he-who-thinks-he-knows.jpg"}}}}}},"pageContext":{"id":"f6c27eda-e5d9-5d19-b188-b1269431ed38","previous":{"id":"734669ed-2264-52ae-b41d-9bc277b1a5be","frontmatter":{"slug":"deep-work-cal-newport","template":"blog-post","title":"How to Get Valuable Work Done (a Review of Deep Work by Cal Newport)"}},"next":{"id":"e0d62006-6c4f-5396-9142-b6747c49afe5","frontmatter":{"slug":"/contact","template":"contact-page","title":"Get in touch"}}}}}