I am a pretty argumentative person from time to time and I tended to play Devil's Advocate a lot in my life. It isn't always a fun position to take but often, a necessary one considering that depending on situation, some very bad ideas can get the go ahead due to agendas and hopes.
For example, a company I was once in the management team of was planning to merge with another company to gain access to a client base they had. The deal presented by the owners was risky on paper considering the costs involved but doable.
However, after meeting with the other management team, I spoke up against the deal due to a few warning signs I got from the people involved. I stated my case, ran some scenarios and potential predictions as to how it was likely to turn out. I was literally shouted down because popular opinion was to go ahead.
The owners were quite arrogant people and other managers generally followed their lead so, it went ahead because the potential 'prize' made them blind to the warning signs I presented.The fact that this was their first deal of this type meant they really wanted it to work out, rather than cut their losses. It cost them dearly and they almost lost the company they had worked hard for.
In this particular case I was pretty much right but, Devil's Advocate doesn't actually require it as the role is to take alternative paths that are against popular opinion. There are advantages of listening to incorrect or unlikely information as, it can lead to a solidification of position but at the very least, it makes a person reconsider their held/favorable position, just to make sure. However, this is only possible when one is open and curious enough to listen, think and play in the unlikely.
Unfortunately, these people are becoming rarer in society as more move toward echo chambers and surround themselves with confirmation bias that makes them feel that their position is correct. When most people feel correct, they don't check if they are wrong because well, they feel correct. It doesn't mean they are of course because they very rarely factor in the blindness associated with wanting certain outcomes.
This is why so many people get scammed in chats, they are looking at the payoff and not paying attention to the scam, identical to the scenario I gave above with the owners. A type of greed blindness where the greed is in getting what one wants in the way they have envisaged it. However, they do not see it this way as they are in the middle of the situation with a preferred outcome believing that they are thinking and acting well.
As people get more emotionally insecure, it is getting less interesting to converse with them as rather than having a good discussion, one has to tiptoe around topics so as not to upset the rickety apple cart of their mind and risk bruising their often fragile egos. Rather than discuss at depth, nothing of consequence really gets touched upon so as to avoid outbursts and hurt feelings. Everyone wants to be in a safe zone.
This results in fragility of position as people, groups, cultures, nations end up in positions where there is no longer a Devil to present the alternative possibilities. The Devil Advocates are more and more being taught their lessons and being 'weeded out' of mainstream media, universities and public discourse. A vital resource is being lost.
Many people avoid listening to things they don't agree with because they feel it threatens their identity. What happens to a religious zealot who hears an argument that makes them no longer believers, or an atheist who is somehow convinced there is a god? Not many people enjoy being wrong, Even if they are better off for finding out better information. So, most avoid scenarios where they may hear they are wrong.
When most people read, watch or listen to information, they aren't looking to find out new, they are looking to see if either they are correct or, the source is wrong. People tend to want to feel smart and superior so will look for areas that are going to allow for this. When they come across a supportive argument, they clap and say "I agree!" And when they are confident that the source is wrong, they want to school them or mock them for their position.
These areas are relatively boring for the curios though as, what is the point? The more interesting conversations are in the areas of uncertainty, the times more questions are required, review, reflection, deeper thought and the best is when the other side shares the same curiosity. It isn't a competition to see who is right or a race to the correct answer, it is cooperation to find out and improve regardless of the starting points. Conceding 'defeat' in this type of discussion isn't a loss, it is a gain.
But it is the loss that people concern themselves with, the loss of their identity, their thoughts and feeling that what they know is who they are and once attached, they do not want to let go. I will end this with a quote I got in a comment not so long back which I think is a brilliant reflection.
For some reason, I AM my thoughts & feelings. When my thoughts change (and they always do because I'm a human) that ONE of me died... Each one of 'me' wants to be alive as long as possible. Even if he knows he's dragging all the other 'me' down, even himself. - @ahmadmanga
Do you see the fragmentation we as humans suffer, the conflict in our very selves? Do you understand why trying to avoid conflict in the world is a losing game? The solution is to be curious, question and work together to find solutions. At least from a human society perspective, there is likely nothing that is unsolvable given enough thought, trial and reflection.
The Devil's Advocates have their place too, including the ones we hold inside us; do not kill them all.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]