31. Merits And Faults Of An Idea

Most of the ideas in our heads are wrong. Some may be useful. One way to find incorrect ideas is to see how they affect the creation of new ideas. Let's look at authority and how it relates to ideas. When we accept an idea based on the authority behind it, authorities such as parents, religious books, and scientists, this implies we judge ideas by their source and not their content. I am reminded of “Obey your parents,” which says we should listen to parents because they are parents and not because their ideas are good. This idea limits the creation of new ideas. Judging the source is forbidden. Judging their ideas is also forbidden. We can conclude that there is no authority we can rely on for truth reliably. Therefore, every idea must be judged by its merits and faults. Now, this idea of judging ideas by substance and not origin allows knowledge to grow because new ideas of why something is good or bad and why it is this way is required. 

For completeness, let's also look at the other side of authority. Should we always judge a source of ideas like conspiracy theorists as wrong? We start again with whether or not this idea limits the growth of ideas or knowledge. (Note, knowledge is information that can make things happen. Ideas are a more general term for everything happening in your head.) Exposure to conspiracy theories even if wrong or from supposedly “bad” sources can spark new ideas. I can read about the flat earth theory and learn something about persuasion or try to make the physics of this new world work. This could teach me new things that could be beneficial. We see then that not all bad ideas stop the creation of new ideas but some do, like relying on authority, and we should be aware of them. What other ideas in your head limit the growth of knowledge?