Welcome to part 10 of a 10 part series:

How to get smarter: A guide to critical thinking, cognitive biases, and logical fallacies

In this article we’re looking at:

Let’s begin…

Follow the evidence wherever it leads

“Follow the evidence where it leads, even if the conclusion is uncomfortable.” – Steven James

There are 2 ways to form beliefs:

You can believe whatever you want to believe (what most people do) You can base your beliefs upon the evidence (what scientists and truth seekers do)

In other words: Your beliefs will be based on either evidence or preference.

I suggest option 2) Follow the evidence wherever it leads – no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable it might be – and base your beliefs upon what you find (So your beliefs are based in reality instead of fantasy)

My thoughts are: If you’re going to believe something – why not believe what’s true?

“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.” – David Hume

“A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.” – Albert Einstein

Unfortunately most people aren’t truth seekers and do not follow the evidence where it leads. They simply believe whatever they want to believe, regardless of the evidence, regardless of how illogical or irrational it might be, simply because it makes them feel good, or it suits them.

Even the few that call themselves “truth seekers”, generally only follow the evidence until the moment it starts going somewhere they don’t like, and then they dig their heels in, and refuse to go any further.

How many people do you know that will follow the evidence where it leads, even if that means going against their political or religious beliefs?

Not many.

“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” – Blaise Pascal

A couple of points on following the evidence where it leads:

Don’t cherry pick

Instead of basing their beliefs upon ALL of the available evidence and information, most people simply cherry pick only the evidence and information that supports their beliefs, whilst simultaneously ignoring and rejecting any evidence that contradicts them.

As a Truth Seeker however, you must be willing to look at ALL of the available evidence and information, not just the evidence and information that supports your beliefs.

Don’t have double standards for evidence

Too many people have double standards for evidence:

One extremely low standard for the things they DO want to believe

One impossibly high standard for the things they DON’T want to believe

For example: For the things they do want to believe such as God, Heaven, the afterlife etc. they’re willing to believe on almost any evidence – no matter how unreliable (gossip, rumors, stories etc.) and they’ll even believe on NO evidence at all.

But for the things they don’t want to believe such as climate change, evolution, or that their political or religious beliefs might be false, they have impossibly high standards for evidence that cannot reasonably be met, or they’ll continually shift the goal posts.

As a critical thinker and a Truth Seeker you should have equally high standards for evidence, both for the things you do want to believe, and for the things you don’t want to believe. Not one extremely low standard of evidence for the things you want to believe, and one impossibly high standard for the things you don’t want to believe.

Don’t shift the goal posts

If you said (insert evidence) would change your mind and convince you of something, once (insert evidence) is provided, don’t refuse to change your mind and immediately shift the goal posts and require an even higher standard of evidence in order to be convinced. This is intellectually dishonest.

Don’t be afraid of going down a slippery slope

Some people are afraid of following the evidence where it leads in case it leads them somewhere they don’t like.

For example: When presented with contradictions or errors in the Bible, a Christian might be afraid to admit the obvious and reason as follows:

“I can’t admit that there might be contradictions or errors in the Bible, because if I did that would mean the Bible wasn’t the word of God, and if the Bible wasn’t the word of God, Christianity wouldn’t be true, and if Christianity wasn’t true, my life would have no meaning… therefore I’m not going to admit anything because I don’t like where this is leading…”

However you shouldn’t deny the obvious or dismiss evidence just because it’s inconvenient, or because you don’t like where the evidence is leading.

Follow the evidence wherever it leads, even if it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Quality > Quantity of evidence

When it comes to evidence: Quality > Quantity.

I could show you a thousand pieces of photographic and video evidence for aliens, Bigfoot, the lochness monster etc. and include interviews and testimonials with dozens of eye witnesses that have supposedly seen them, but all of that ‘evidence’ doesn’t make it true.

It’s the quality, not the quantity, of evidence you should be paying attention to.

Summary

As a Truth Seeker you must be willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

You must also be willing to change your beliefs every single day without resistance or hesitation if the evidence demands it. Anything else is intellectually dishonest