Debunking "liberals don't think"

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Debunking "liberals don't think"
107
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 1:37pm

I have often read the phrase "those liberals don't think, they only feel." Accompanying this phrase is often the analogy of Obama supporters as sheep who are so blinded by the light of Obama's celebrity that they fail to consider the issues carefully or logically.

First, I wanted to say that most liberals I know DO feel. They are very empathetic, compassionate people who do want to ease suffering in the world. I think that most conservatives are the same way. But liberals are not stupid. In fact, if you look at the data, higher levels of education are correlated with more liberal attitudes, although once you get into people with graduate degrees, the correlation flattens. The faculty at more prestigious universities also tend to be more liberal than the faculty at less prestigious universities. This is not to say that there are not highly intelligent people who are also conservative. My point is simply that saying liberals "don't think, they only feel" is simply a false explanation for disagreement.

Can't we all agree that two intelligent people considering the exact same information might come to different conclusions? Can't we all agree that two intelligent people carefully and logically considering the issues might still choose to vote for different presidential candidates? If we want to get over the polarization in our society, we need to stop thinking of people who disagree as being idiots.



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siggy aug 09

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2007
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 1:47pm

Can't we all agree that two intelligent people considering the exact same information might come to different conclusions? Can't we all agree that two intelligent people carefully and logically considering the issues might still choose to vote for different presidential candidates?


YES

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-31-2001
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:11pm

Absolutely, intelligent people can have very valid reasons for reaching different conclusions. However, I disagree with how you measure intelligence. I have met many people with advanced degrees who were not intelligent at all, and have known people who have only finished high school who have a very high level of intellectual ability. In my experience, the acquisition of an advanced degree is in no way a statement of a person's intelligence, but rather a testament to the fortitude of that individual to endure a long list of pointless, mundane courses in the pursuit of those rare classes that actually inspire real learning.

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VJ-Sig
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:14pm

Can't we all agree that two intelligent people considering the exact same information might come to different conclusions? Can't we all agree that two intelligent people carefully and logically considering the issues might still choose to vote for different presidential candidates? If we want to get over the polarization in our society, we need to stop thinking of people who disagree as being idiots.


Abso-freakin'-lotely.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:26pm
Intelligence is complex and there is debate over how to best measure it. How would you measure it?



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siggy aug 09
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2007
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:28pm
A lot of people who support Palin like her because they believe that she has "common sense".
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2007
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:30pm
Maybe a distinction between intelligence and intellect?
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-31-2001
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:41pm

I have no idea how to measure it, LOL. I would have agreed with you if the statement was just a general idea that there are "smart folks" on both sides! I just HATE the constant "you can't be smart because you don't have a college degree", which, for the record, I get a LOT as a stay at home mom (I only have some college completed because my progress has been excessively slow due to family situations).

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VJ-Sig
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:44pm
Well, here is the way I think of general intelligence. Its not how many facts you know or how much knowledge you have stored in your head. Its a flexibility of thinking; an ability to take in and assess large quantities of information and form logical conclusions from it. Some psychologists call this "fluid intelligence." That's what university professors do. They aren't storage banks of information; they are active creators of new knowledge. Whether scientists or historians, they are assessing information and forming new ideas and theories from that information and then publishing those ideas and theories for others to evaluate. I think some people view education as being about simply packing more information into your brain. I don't view it that way. I view it as exercise; about training your brain to do the things I've described, regardless of the topic. I believe people become more intelligent the more they learn to do these things, be it in standard school topics or in other areas too, like in sports or in social skills or whatever.



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siggy aug 09
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:47pm
Oh, well I definitely don't think that! :-) I think there is a general correlation between education and intelligence but its just that, a correlation and not a rule. There are of course very intelligent people who don't go to college, for whatever reason.



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siggy aug 09
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Fri, 10-17-2008 - 2:50pm

I think one of the questions is the difference among "knowledge", "intelligence" and "judgment", all of which have some interrelationship, but are not mutually inclusive.


For example, I may have the "knowledge" that if you intake sufficient amounts of ethyl alcohol it will overwhelm the ability of the body to process it, and that toxins will build up in my bloodstream.


I may have the "intelligence" to know that given my weight that if I have more than two drinks in an hour, that is going to happen to me.


But if I don't have the "judgment" to say to myself, "Self, cut back there...", I'll still wake up with a hangover.

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