Political Correctness Is Inconsistent with Critical Thinking
Posted by Jeffrey EllisNov 10
Here’s my reasoning on this…
A. Political correctness is the practice of avoiding the stating of certain truths which may offend certain people or groups.
B. Critical thinkers are committed first and foremost to pursuing the truth. (See, e.g., here.)
C. Consequently, political correctness is inconsistent with critical thinking.
Any problems with the above?
15 comments
Comment by Michael on November 11, 2009
You should check out Fabius Maximus blog. I think he sets the standard for avoiding critical thinking.
Comment by Jason Ellis on November 11, 2009
Certainly there are some cases in which part A of your argument applies, but the problem I see with it is that politically incorrect terms in general are not indisputable ‘truths’.
I see political correctness as the practice of avoiding offense toward others by omitting broad generalizations and/or intolerant/ignorant perspectives when discussing a topic. Said generalizations offend as they are often pointed and not complete or fully considerate representations of their target.
For instance, even though the words are generally associated with one who is deficient in average intellectual capacity, calling someone with a significant learning disability an ‘idiot’ or ‘dumb’ is politically incorrect as it is not a fair or complete understanding or assessment of their specific aptitude and it isn’t sympathetic of the challenges they face.
Again, this isn’t the case for all politically incorrect perspectives, but I am predicting that it is for a majority.
Comment by Jeffrey Ellis on November 11, 2009
Michael: Was unaware of that blog, will give it a look.
Jason: (Are we related?) There is a range of political correctness. I was thinking of things that are pretty much beyond dispute that nevertheless certain people avoid saying — for example, that 99% of terrorist attacks in the last ~10 years have been made by Muslim extremists. You make a good point about the weaker end of the spectrum, though; some things are of course over-generalizations and/or carry unfair/negative connotations.
Comment by Jason Ellis on November 12, 2009
We’re not related, at least not that I’m aware of - do you have any family in Ohio? We do share some commonalities though; name, science, skepticism, progressive music (thanks for the porcupine tree, never listened until now - love it), Imperial stout, engineering and blogging. It’s a little weird.
Anyhow…
I touched on this thread a little over at my place in case you’re interested.
Comment by Jeffrey Ellis on November 12, 2009
I grew up in Ohio — Cincinnati (Forest Park and West Chester areas). Don’t have any relatives there currently, though. Yeah, the similarities are a bit eerie.
Comment by Lorenzo from Oz on November 13, 2009
Jason Ellis has picked on a genuine issue in that political correctness cannot be defined as avoidance of truth.
That being said, there is a fair bit of that in pc. Matt Ridley defined political correctness as ‘ought’ implying ‘is’, which captures a central feature of pc. One only has to see the dancing around awkwardness in pc responses to the Fort Hood shooting. (Another case of Tim Blair’s wicked observation that the “reality based community” seems to find strong doses of reality rather too much to bear.)
I see pc as having two components. One is “evangelical niceness”. The things Jason Ellis picked up in his comment. The second is “opinion bigotry”: holding certain opinions to be a sign of moral superiority and others of moral inferiority. The attention to truth content, not to mention critical thinking, is particularly low in the latter. After all, it generates clear cognitive blockages.
Comment by Jason Ellis on November 13, 2009
Well, if you thought is was eerie before… I just moved to West Chester in February to work at the home office of an engineering company - I live off of Dimmick Road. Freaky.
Back to your regularly scheduled program…
After thinking about it more and based on what I’ve read about Fort Hood, I don’t feel that A is an sound foundation for B & C. In my (and consequently Lorenzo’s) take on it, I feel that the practice of ‘evangelical niceness’ PC as Lorenzo put it, doesn’t have to interfere with objective reasoning, but rather, just massages the language used to convey one’s thoughts.
The ‘opinion bigotry’ PC is just holding your tongue and not using inconsiderate, ignorant, or hateful terminology. Critical thinking may not be fully possible in one who practices this anyway.
I know I am parroting Lorenzo, but it’s a learning exercise of sorts for me.
Comment by Jeffrey Ellis on November 13, 2009
Lorenzo: Agree - the more I think about it, I guess my definition of PC in (A) is probably more strict than most would agree with. I like your notion that PC is comprised of both “evangelical niceness” (great phrase there!) and “opinion bigotry”. I would also add a third component, and that’s a cognitive bias component whereby sociopolitical worldviews, wishful thinking, etc. provide the motivation for PC thinking.
Jason: Is the Golden Chain Chinese restaurant still there (Dimmick Plaza, corner of Dimmick and Rt 42)? I love that place. Best. Eggrolls. Ever.
Comment by mom on November 13, 2009
Yes, Jeff, it is still there. I have lunch there twice a year when I go back to the dentist. Yum! Also, the best won ton soup! Jason, you need to go!
Comment by Jeffrey Ellis on November 13, 2009
Mom, does she still remember you when you go there? I was always impressed that she’d remember me, even if it had been several years since my last visit.
Mmmmm, and butterfly shrimp… and lichi duck… ROAD TRIP!
Comment by Mom on November 14, 2009
She (Nina) always did remember me, then she wasn’t there for a year or more. Last year we went to some restaurant (not Chinese) in the Blue Ash area for Amanda’s birthday, and Nina was the one who seated us. She called me “Mrs. Ellis” ! She said her brother had taken over The Golden Chain. I was amazed that she remembered my name. She probably still remembers that we ordered sweet and sour chicken “with sauce on the side.” (for Scott) And YES to lichi duck!
Comment by Cam on November 15, 2009
Jeff, when you come out here in December, let’s plan on going there. You and shrimp are the talk at family get-togethers too.
Comment by Lorenzo from Oz on November 16, 2009
The ‘opinion bigotry’ PC is just holding your tongue and not using inconsiderate, ignorant, or hateful terminology.
No, that’s evangelical niceness.
Opinion bigotry is more the sort of thing that, for example, multiplies the finding of racism, or other malice, as a device to de-legitimise dissent. For example, the attempts to suggest any criticism of Obama was implicitly racist. It uses ostensible commitment to compassion and tolerance as an excuse to show much contempt and intolerance.
Comment by Jason Ellis on November 16, 2009
Well I’m sold - I’ll have to give it a shot. I’m always looking for good Chinese food.
Comment by Jason Ellis on November 16, 2009
I see now Lorenzo - thanks for the clarifying!