What exactly is an open mind, and who demonstrably has one?

[UG]

During sometimes heated debate between theists and atheists, invariably some believer accusingly proclaims "if only you had an open mind, you would see..."

Hmmm. How many open-minds give equal consideration to creation and the Big Bang? Or micro-evolution & abiogenesis and creation? Or the non-existence of god and its existence?

And yet there is the vocalized presumption of the working definition of an 'open mind'.

So, what the hell is an open mind if, for some, a non-open mind is so easy to point to and define?

 

[Kayes]

"If you keep your mind sufficiently open, people will throw a lot of rubbish into it."

William A. Orton

sorry
saw this yesterday and couldn't help myself...

 

[Pretender]

Patients in the middle of a neurosurgery operation.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

I hope that having an open mind isn't about being too wishy washy to commit to a decision.

 

[dennilfloss]

Ronald Reagan has an open mind. Ideas, names, events, dates go right through without being absorbed. Been like that since about 2 years before he got elected president. Didn't he say sometime in the 1980 campaign: "I am open-minded"? He meant it.

I will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)

 

[Gaul]

Everyone has opinions and preconceptions. A truely open mind is impossible. Well maybe babies have open minds, but who knows?

 

[Isla]

I think I have an open mind.

To me, it constitutes acknowleging that I may be wrong, that I do not know everything, and that the only thing I can be assured of is change.

This is one of the reasons why I will give my POV on certain matters, but I will not argue or debate things in such as way as to become ego-invested in my arguments. After all, I could be wrong. Heh, we ALL could be wrong... like some sadistic cosmic joke.

In the back of my mind, I realize that I am just doing the best I can with the experiences I have had and the information I have processed. I am the sum total of my experiences and will continue to grow and change as I age.

From what I studied in college, this is what 'openess to experience' is and it is, to some researchers, a component of intelligence.

 

[UG]

Denis,

That's sort of my thought. A truly open mind is like a bottomless bucket intended to carry water.

 

[somethingwitty]

having an open mind means being respectful of the opinions of others...it means thinking before you speak/type, and trying to consider the reasoning behind their opinions.

 

[luv2chill]

I like to think that I'm open-minded.

Isla said it best... any one of us could be wrong. Being open-minded (to me) means acknowledging that possibility while having ideas based on your experiences.

I think that it's a lot easier to accept a particular POV and close your mind to all others. But I couldn't live my life like that. Nothing (in my experience) is black & white.

Of course we all have biases, but I try to stay aware of mine and bracket them out when really examining a certain issue. I will also be the first to admit that I'm not always successful.

I think that a lot of people can't deal with the uncertainty and other "unpleasantries" that come along with being open-minded, which explains why most people aren't. Ego has a little something to do with it also.

l2c

 

[UG]

Isla,

The 'openness to experience' definiton works for me but, usually, in conversation 'open mind' seems to appear in conversation only in the context of supposed aspects of nature not experienced by so many of us.

 

[Moonbeam]

I try to be openminded about whether I'm openminded. When I set out to prove that what I believed was true I came to the conclusion that it was false. The reward for that was total hopelessness and black misery. Something happened and I found not God or God's love, but my love, that I love. Anyway, since I already paid with my life for my mercyless quest, I don't worry about what alley I might stumble into. One of the keys to poenmindedness, it seems to me is the fundamental and usually hidden identity of opposites (Paradox). You are near truth when you deal with paradox.

 

[Isla]

lol, whatever it is, Moonbeam always makes me stretch it out and work it hard. But that's what I love about Moonbeam!

Nothing like a post that makes me think.

 

[shiner]

I have an open mind as long as you agree with everything I say.