From: jxxl@taurus.cs.nps.navy.mil (John Locke)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Open-mindedness a good thing?
Message-ID: <2590@huxley.cs.nps.navy.mil>
Date: 8 Aug 91 16:28:37 GMT
References: <STIR.91Aug7174859@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: jxxl@cs.nps.navy.mil (John Locke)
Organization: Headquarters
Lines: 43

>    Mr. hubbard's definition of open minded was someone who would take the
>    attiitude of taking auditor training...

> open-minded : aj : receptive of arguements or ideas : UNPREJUDICED.
> (unscrupulously stolen from webster)
 
> funny how the great mr. hubbard finds it necessary to redefine the
> word 'open-minded'.  how many other words has the great savior of man
> redefined? 

One frequently encounters the term "open-minded" in the rebel literature of
flying saucers, astrology, ESP, reincarnation, Scientology, etc. It's usually
first encountered on the dust jacket flap or on the back of the paperback. It
represents an admission by the authors that their beliefs are in the minority,
reveals that they're looking for converts to their views, and blames the non-
belief of the majority on an alleged character defect, the lack of open-minded-
ness.

Contrast the rebel literature with real scientific research. True scientists
are compelled by professional standards to publish their data and findings
in public journals, so that others may either reproduce their results or
discover flaws in their methods. The scientist either makes the best effort
of which he is capable or unduly risks his professional reputation. It is not
the most gentle of systems, but it is just, by and large.

You will have to look very hard to find the term "open-minded" in real
scientific literature. A real scientist will state his doubts where they
exist. He will not concoct quasi-religious arguments to justify a theory that
would not otherwise make sense. There will be no appeal to "trust me," as the
idea of open-mindedness really implies; the scientist's real attitude toward
others is "don't take my word for it." A real scientist couldn't care less
whether anyone trusts him; his strength lies in the verifiable coherence of
his work.

So, while lack of prejudice is superficially a good thing, prudence dictates
running in the opposite direction when the term "open-minded" starts getting
tossed around. It's one thing for a child, who enters the world knowing
nothing, to switch world views every few years; it's quite another for an
adult, who benefits from accumulated knowledge and experience, to do so. In
fact, it seems perfectly justified to become less open-minded as time goes by,
and more suspicious of the newest philosophies to float through the transom.

John