In the circles I run with, people value independent thought. It’s considered a sign of intelligence when you can consider things from every angle and form your own beliefs. And I agree that it is.
However, consensus beliefs (that is, beliefs commonly held by a large group of people) remain quite common, and many people hold to them, by definition. So why do we have them?
The simplest explanation is that they have merit. If a lot of people individually come to hold the same beliefs and ideas, there’s a good chance there’s some truth to them. As such, I think any commonly agreed upon ideas are worth examining. This doesn’t mean you should blindly follow them, of course, but you should consider there might be a reason for the ideas to be so popular.
Of course, there’s also the possibility the ideas caught on somehow, and once they became popular, people used my reasoning above to think that if lots of people think in a particular way, it must be the right way. This only perpetuates itself unless people know how to think for themselves.
Of course, it’s also possible to have more than one set of consensus beliefs, held by more than one group of people. The example that comes to mind most readily is politics, in which we have a conservative consensus and a liberal consensus. There’s also a growing libertarian consensus in the U.S. This is still an oversimplification, but it illustrates my point of multiple groups of consensus.
So, why buy into it? Because it makes sense to you. To take an example, of all the political views I mentioned above, I most identify with the ideas of liberals. The idea that people should all have a minimum standard of living makes sense to me. But, that doesn’t mean I agree with liberals on everything. For instance, I think gun control laws should be minimal. The right to own weaponry is a Constitutionally protected right, and shouldn’t be given up. While I can see some laws limiting weaponry to be reasonable, they all need to be carefully considered and weighed against the Constitution, as well as be narrow in scope to not have unintended consequences later on.
I use this example to show that you can buy into the general idea a group espouses while still holding your own opinions. Gun control isn’t the only area I disagree with liberals on, but it’s a well known area and easy to explain quickly. I still like the general philosophy of liberals, and I picked it up because it was out there and well known because a lot of people agree with it and can explain it well. But then, I examined it more, and brought in my own experiences to refine it into a worldview that makes more sense to me.
My point in this is to show that generally agreeing with a group consensus isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes, there is merit to consensus beliefs. That merit is how many become popular in the first place. The problem is only when you accept consensus beliefs blindly, without examination, simply because it’s popular. I have no problem with anyone who disagrees with me, so long as they disagree intelligently and not just because the group says it has to be one way. I’m certainly not saying that liberal ideas are the only ones that make sense, but it’s all in how you think about it and the process you use to come to your beliefs and ideas. I only used liberals as an example since that’s generally where I fall on the political spectrum.
So, if you commonly treat what’s popular, or common beliefs, as bad solely because it is common, I’d urge you to reconsider. Sometimes, there’s value to be found in beliefs that are held by a large group of people. Don’t take them all at face value though, just consider them and think about the merits they may have. Sometimes, the crowd really is there to see something good. Just don’t follow the crowd without thinking first.
Related Posts:
- Finding My Beliefs
- On Theism and Atheism
- Science Is Not a Religion
- Pascal’s Wager Is a Poor Reason to “Believe” In God
- Speak Up
