Propaganda

Most people don’t want the truth. They want to be right.

If the truth gets in the way of being right, human minds will typically do something odd. They will lock down. And according to the philosopher Chris Ranalli, when this happens we should start to call it “indoctrination.” In his work on social epistemology Rinaldi argues that indoctrination isn’t just about what you believe, but how that belief is sealed off from the rest of the world.

It’s a psychological cage where the door in and out stays barred. Ranalli points out that indoctrination works by preemptively dismissing any counter-evidence that may come along. So if somebody does offer a contrary opinion, you do not see it as a reason to change your mind. Instead you have been trained to view it as a test of faith or as propaganda from an enemy. The indoctrinated person is not necessarily any less intelligent than anybody else, but they are just constantly at war and they’ve come to see doubt as a danger to avoid.

As Ranalli puts it, indoctrination is best described as kind of defense mechanism where any contrary view is considered to be irrational or even immoral. Ranalli argues that the way to resolve indoctrination is not to challenge someone or besiege their locked- down fortress but to offer them an off-ramp. We need to make the indoctrinated person feel safe and secure enough to doubt because doubting makes you vulnerable, doubting is scary. We need to create the space where doubting is seen as okay.

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Ranalli: INDOCTRINATION. MiniPhilosophy. Facebook Teels.

Citation: Ranalli, Chris: Closed-Minded Belief and Indoctrination. American Philosophical Quarterly. Volume 59, Number 1. January 2022.