Critical thinking is a real challenge today. Even when the facts are exactly the same, the valence-charge of positive (Woke) or negative (Racist) determines which view is accepted as a societal norm.
Valence-charged Facts: the hidden force shaping our new post-rational era
We seem to be facing many paradoxes in our post-rational era. At the core is our empirical science-based reason’s inability to convey valence required by our humanist worldview that creates these paradoxes.
I find humor to be central to any effort to recognize the hidden force shaping our new post-rational era (you must name a demon to control it and best to use humor in the naming). Valence-charged facts are why we can no longer share a civil discourse or rely upon critical thinking skills like rational objectivism based on empirical science-validated facts. Subjective reality has always overlaid objective reality (facts), however, only with open — rational & disinterested — minds can we discuss racism or the inequality our market economy has generated while creating so many billionaires — 621 according to Forbes in 2019 — and the wealthiest country of the world.
Valence, or hedonic tone, is the affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness/”good”-ness (positive valence) or averseness/”bad”-ness (negative valence) of an event, object, or situation. Nico H. Frijda, The Emotions. Cambridge(UK): Cambridge University Press, 1986. p. 207
We seem to be facing many paradoxes in our post-rational era. At the core is our empirical science-based reason’s inability to convey valence required by our humanist worldview that creates these paradoxes. We have supplanted objective truth with Humanist Truth. Actually, a fact is merely dead and has no life (i.e., valence) of its own. Only when incorporated into a value system/narrative, do facts take on a valence. The hidden charging of facts by valence inhibits rational discourse and decision-making.
This is a systemic problem. Just consider wokeness in our post-rational era (see example below): Brad & Chad Best Friends Forever video. No real spoilers are given and only 1:44 long. BEST TWO MINUTES YOU’LL SPEND ON YOUTUBE GUARANTEED!
As demonstrated in the video above (showing the adoption of the exact same language by both Woke and Racist groups), critical thinking is a real challenge today. Even when the facts are exactly the same, the valence charge of positive (Woke) or negative (Racist) determines which view is accepted as a societal norm.
Once valence-charged, a fact becomes a magnet. Think of the fact as having the two poles of a magnet. Apply this frame of reference to the Birther Battle [(slang, derogatory, US politics) A believer in the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States (2009–2017), was not born in that country, and therefore ineligible for the presidency due to national law.]. To opponents, Trump repels. ‘How dare Trump challenge our connection to our progressive champion!’ Opponents see his mantra as evidence of racism. To his supporters, it attracts. Trump is denigrating identity politics that has co-opted multiculturalism [The first African-American president was not a descendant of slaves but a true-blue American success story of a more traditional sort (migrant father, meritocracy-educated, and humble beginnings).]. Unfortunately, no one seems to look beyond that bi-polar valence-charge of the fact and focus on the fact itself [Yes, President Obama was born in the United States.].
This unique ability to present a valence-charged bi-polar message of Humanist Knowledge is the driving force of Trump’s continued appeal, regardless of his obvious inadequacies as a person or a President.
In a post-rational world full of valence-charged facts, it is impossible to have a rational (or even civil) discussion. Being immersed in our post-rational era means we must acknowledge ‘lived experience’ without being able to opine on how it impacts our common goal of ‘equal opportunity for all’ or how we can work as a pluralistic society with differing definitions of “The Good.” Makes me wonder what will happen to the humanities like literature and theatre studies (founded on fiction and using empathy-like mechanisms for exploring differing definitions of The Good), but that’s for another time.
WHAT ME? I AM A RATIONAL BEING!
The greatest danger is believing only your opponents are infected with Humanistic Truth. While I hate to admit it, I am basically intuitive, not rational. Just like all people, practically all the time, I make hasty judgments. These are not based on reason. My false reason comes from the hidden operations of cognitive predispositions and a two-track brain. Instead of my mind acting as a judge weighing the facts, it acts as a press secretary seeking to justify my beliefs.
That’s right, “humans are not designed to practice reason. We are designed to make arguments that aim to support our preconceived conclusions, not yours,” The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Once a social value has been mapped onto the biological disgust mechanism in social interactions (e.g., valence-charged facts), then it is impossible to have a reasoned discussion about any topic (from racism, inequality, BREXIT, or the election of President Trump). We need a new narrative to allow us to deploy our critical thinking skills and address the growing inequity in our society. I find the best new narratives use allegory and metaphor deployed through humor that must be grasped and not explained. WATCH THE VIDEO!
RESOURCES (once you have your eyes opened by humor (WATCH THE VIDEO!), consider these-passionate critical thinking skills on full display, including rational objectivism based on empirical science-validated facts).
The best roundtable I’ve found on the topic of racism:
The best discussion I’ve found on inequality:
The best presentation on the danger of identity politics in a time of political decay:
Consider reading The Once and Future Liberal by Mark Lilla and Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Francis Fukuyama on the risks of identity politics (the evil twin of multiculturalism).
The best organization I’ve found seeking to depolarize American politics (John Wood, Jr.’s tweet above — He is a National Ambassador of Braver Angels):
Free of the twin distractions of mobility and community, I spent my time pondering deep concepts — one was survival on the Main Line in an infamously famous and brutal prison, San Quentin.
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