Everyday Canvas

Reflecting on a Thought without Accepting It

Prompt: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”― Aristotle
Your thoughts. Do you agree or disagree?

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I certainly agree. Aren’t all our problems in the personal, social, and political areas due to our tribalism? If everyone took a moment to mull over thoughts and ideas that may seem alien to them, we wouldn’t be fighting with each other tooth and nail over the simplest things.

This certainly doesn’t mean that we should accept everything against what we have stood for or believed immediately, but why not give the opposing thought a bit of breathing space and just reflect on or wonder if that idea can be used at least in a limited way? Listening to a different idea and weighing it for a second or two is a much better solution for all kinds of relationships, before coming up with a clever zinger to throw the conversation our way and encouraging sharp exchanges or even fights.

If we cannot agree with that other thought, we can at least agree to disagree with the other person and not act like enemies. Respecting others’ thoughts and opinions doesn’t mean we have to be convinced and bent to their way of thinking. Plus, it is one thing to disagree, but it is another thing to be rude or combative about it

Respecting others’ opinions, although they may be different from ours, shows maturity and mental and emotional stability, and as Aristotle said, an educated mind. One more thing, I’d like to clear up, here, is that an educated mind doesn’t mean a long duration of schooling. There are lots of intolerant people as hordes of professors and those who have attended top schools for decades. An educated mind, I believe, is what we, on our own, can grant ourselves through life experiences and maybe some schooling, too.