Warnings of Dogmatism

Dogma, the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization that is authoritative, and not to be disputed.

Dogma is why we fight or show disgust for new ideas, alternatives, and change.

It takes work and conscious effort in the way you process new information, to be less dogmatic and open to what contradicts your world views. People in leadership and management positions don’t always do this. In many cases they retort with a sense of frustration or anger while insisting their belief is the most righteous. It must also be pointed out that this reaction of opposition is often based in ignorance to what is an alien idea.

Authority: “We silence the cognitive dissonance [disagreement/misunderstanding] through self-imposed ignorance.” –Jonah Lehrer.

Basically, it’s a way of ignoring what we don’t want to hear. If it doesn’t fit into our preconceptions we discard it.

The world is a wide open space of possibilities. Don’t ignore it.