Devil’s Advocate

It’s easy to talk about ideas with like-minded individuals. Right now I’m in a class where we have to participate in online discussions. We are graded on posting a discussion and we are graded on responding to two other discussions. I’m not sure if its the topic that people choose to write about, or if it’s just the culture we live in, but the responses are pretty predictable. They are often affirming what the person said or asking some clarifying or expanding question. All of us students elected to take this class so it’s very likely we share similar perspectives, and while that is affirming in some ways, it can be quite boring in others (just for discussion purposes, the class itself is interesting).

Anyways, I was listening to a discussion today about whether or not there is any objectivity in the world, especially with respect to good and bad. I think it’s is important to be challenged; to put your beliefs to the test. I think it’s important to be able to engage in respectful discourse. In this case, both sides strongly maintained their beliefs. While I think genuine debate is valuable, I also think that sometimes disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing can also lead to fruitful outcomes.

My thoughts on objective truths and good vs evil in my next post, I promise.