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Trust vs Skepticism


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#16 Magi_Hero

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Posted 31 March 2017 - 10:06 AM

Very true, Koh. We are surrounded by many people who like to cause grief for others. A lot of it is based on their opinions and people just downright not liking their opinions, so they stretch the truth to cause grief.

Edited by tim, 31 March 2017 - 10:09 AM.


#17 Beefster

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Posted 20 April 2017 - 12:22 AM

I've sort of refined my general philosophy over the last couple of years and have come to realize that a healthy dose of skepticism goes a long way. In the end, nobody really knows what they're talking about, so treating what everyone says (including yourself and whatever echo chambers you live in) with a grain of salt is key to having a robust philosophy and making good choices in life. It's important to have civil conversations with people who disagree with you (and listen to them)- a time to challenge your own ideas (essentially self-skepticism) and refine your position. It's important to look into unusual philosophies and see what of merit they actually contain (For instance, the Red Pill philosophy has some valuable elements of self-improvement and understanding of human nature- even though I don't really agree with the alt-right ideology that comes with it). This is something most of us are terrible at (myself included) and is probably the main reason why certain kinds of people (e.g. modern mainstream media) have so much power over the masses, particularly in the way they think.

 

Trust isn't necessarily the opposite of skepticism. Trust is what you do with a friend or family member. It's when you expect people to live up to their ends of the bargain. I trust only a few people with very personal information about my life. I trust only some of my friends to borrow my stuff and return it. However, trust should never mean that you take everything a person says at face value. At the end of the day, what one man says (no matter how much you trust that person) to you is just advice and it's up to you (Well, between you and God, if you're the religious type) to determine if what they say is actually good advice.

 

You can be both skeptical and trusting; it's a matter of differentiating the person from what they say.

 

(Side Note: I haven't been around in over a year... Interesting... I have no idea if this is a fluke or if I'll go to posting pithy/semi-controversial thoughts from time to time... I apologize if I've broken any forum rules. They may have possibly changed on me, but as far as I can tell there is nothing objectionable in my post.)


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