If there’s anything studying philosophy has taught me, it’s that black-and-white issues are incredibly few and far between. Most anything can be questioned, most any terms redefined, and most any argument examined from a dozen different angles.

For this reason, I’ve found myself frustrated by the lack of nuance that most social mediums provide. Particularly when it comes to social media, interaction is often limited to a simple “yes” or “no”—we like or dislike a comment, and we cheer or ignore a post.

Josh Burns, in a previous article on Intellectual Takeout, explains the problem well:

[On social media,] our inputs are binary. We either completely like something or we don’t; we either completely share something or we don’t.  The problem is that we are often not in full support of anything, and those subtleties are typically detected by our counterpart(s), during real interpersonal discussion. There are granularities that are not captured by our newest and most pervasive form of communication. This essential element of conveyance, found lacking, is destroying relationships, diluting discourse, and promoting hasty generalizations.

This wasn’t always the case. Josh Burns goes on:

Before social media, it was possible to express varying degrees of alignment with ideas. We talked to people we disagreed with, because they probably weren’t in absolute opposition to our views, just partially, and their reasoning might have been well-founded. We are human beings; our lives have more inherent meaning and our belief systems are infinitely more complex than a simple binary switch. Some of our strongest-held beliefs and values mature over decades, yet we spend seconds passing judgment on others.

And to be honest, this through-the-screen, black-and-white communication undermines genuine intellectual interaction. How many times have any of us written a detailed, measured, and civil response to another person’s opposing view? Or—better yet—sat down with an actual human being, watched their actual lips move, and listened to them politely challenge our opinions? Both of these practices require patience and open-mindedness, and they can—albeit subtly—train us out of the binaries that characterize our contemporary world.

Plus, consciously practicing openness to another point of view doesn’t just help us practice intellectual nuance. It’s also a way to acknowledge and appreciate the people behind opinions. In recent days, after all, it’s become increasingly difficult for many people to both understand that (1) a person can have good intentions, argumentation, and logic; and (2) have the wrong conclusion. Often, arguments degenerate into broad ad hominem attacks, with the position in question blurring behind disputes over a person’s character.

Because of this, moving beyond the screen to genuine discourse can be a helpful reminder that behind every opinion is a person. With this in mind, interacting more deeply with those we disagree with can go a long way! Here are some ways we each can start.

1. Find people who disagree with us on a topic (this topic can be major or minor) and find out their reasons for it. We don’t even need to say we disagree—or present our own opinions; we can just listen to why they believe what they do.
2. When we’re tempted to click a “dislike” button on a post or video, we can take a few moments to get out a piece of paper and write out three (good!) reasons why the person posting might take the stance that they do. We might still disagree, but we’ll be consciously recognizing that they have reasons for their position.
3. Ask questions! Too often, we dismiss opinions we dislike with a shake of the head, a grunt of disgust, or a mere feeling of superiority. But how much of this would change if we simply asked a question? Learning about other views can be a good way to see their intellectual nuance.

Facilitators of black-and-white discourse (like social media) don’t have to be taken out of our lives completely (though that could be wise), but we should be careful to incorporate other forms of intellectual communication.

—

Image credit: Unsplash