The more that is available to read or watch online, the harder it becomes to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake. As philosopher Michael Patrick Lynch says 'It's as if we know more but understand less'. In this talk, he dares us to take active steps to burst our filter bubbles and participate in the common reality that actually underpins everything.
"Do I care about truth or just my own comforting opinion?" is the single question he's basically asking everyone to ask themselves. When we confront beliefs with healthy scepticism and reasoning, looking at information from different perspectives before filtering or accommodating and assimilating then we reduce the harm that we could potentially inflict on ourselves or others and gain a greater understanding.
"Truth" tends to be thought of as a subjective phenomenon rather than an objective reality because few have been taught how to think or problem solve effectively. We move closer to overcoming this by learning about different forms of cognitive bias and educating ourselves about how to use logic to approach problems.
How to see past your own perspective and find truth | Michael Patrick Lynch
