In my last post I weighed in on ideas like argumentation, dispute, and opinion.

I really love to explore that subject-matter, especially when it’s free of academic jargon or influence.
Though I often think about and discuss language with close friends—how to navigate the aether of ideas and its treacherous airspace—I don’t write all too much about it.

Because there is a good deal more to say about the present day condition of public discourse and how we communicate thoughts and ideas to one another, and because thought and ideas are the very bedrock of our behaviour and decision-making, I’m obliged to expand on my last post.

Never before in my life have I been more compelled to share the knowledge I have of thinking, speaking, and doing.

In my ten years of contributing to this blog I don’t think I’ve ever written a “part two,” so
I’m psyched. Let’s have at it.

The 18th century English poet Lord Byron said the following. “Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.”

Here is my central premise. Modern man is going through a period of social, psychological, ethical, and spiritual decay, mainly because he’s losing/lost his capacity to reason.

Again, reason is defined as the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic + what is right, practical, or possible; common sense.

Logic is a big idea too. It is defined as “the quality of being justifiable by reason.”

Things like logic and reason are incredibly unfashionable nowadays. Not sure if you’ve noticed…

Instead, I give you the holy Assumption, and I don’t mean the Roman Catholic doctrine of the same name, despite the parallels.

assumption: “a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof or evidence.”

An assumption can be a very problematic thorn in our thinking.

I was born into a society that loves to bathe in assumption.

A straightforward example is the attitude Canadians have toward popular media, particularly “news” agencies.

If, say, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) or Global News Inc. publishes a piece, most people will—and I use the generality “most people” here not as an assumption but as an inference—either outright accept its report as factual or at the very least give its report the benefit of the doubt in terms of truthfulness. It’s a foolish assumption to make, but an all too common one made, and made without applying reason.

We all make assumptions. It just helps to be conscious of them in one’s self and in others.

Hold up, gracious thinker. Do I have a kicker for you.

Reason can be sidestepped. But how? I’m no cognitive guru, but two things immediately come to mind.

One. Trust. Trust is defined as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.

Trust given to someone or some thing is a powerful gesture. We do it all the time as a matter of faith.

Trust is a positive quality based on love. Trusting someone or some group for being honest, transparent, etc. seems wise and good-natured, but placing trust in those whose motives are questionable or whose integrity is lacking is ill-advised.

Misplaced trust is problematic and incredibly widespread among the people of the world. As institutions, multinationals, and governments around the world continue to haemorrhage credibility, trust will flow elsewhere.

I’m praying we choose carefully about where to place this newly reclaimed trust.

Two. Fear. Ever try reasoning with a fearful person? Tread carefully…

When we are overcome with fear, which is to say, an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, harm, or loss, our ability to understand and to think clearly can turn to shit.

[Also worth mentioning that anxiety and worry are products of fear]

However, fear is an emotion that can be channelled with the right effort.

If channelled in a balanced way, fear can help supercharge our reason. A developed sense of reason can even help us detect when our fear is justified enough to take decisive action.

Superstition, delusion, terrible insecurity, and uncontrollable emotion are just some of the features that become prominent in those whose ability to reason has been impaired, undeveloped, subordinated by fear or distorted by a misplacement of trust.

These are some notes on dispute.