I don’t necessarily think that “an identity of critical thinking” is the answer.
I’ve renounced beliefs, several times, that I thought were central to my identity, but weren’t backed up very well by the evidence. The pattern was that I would think about what I actually wanted to protect—what really mattered to me—and found that it wasn’t quite the same as the (false) belief in question, and that I could be truer to myself without illusions.
For example, someone who thinks capitalism is evil may, at root, be someone who really cares about preventing human suffering. You can still do that—you can do it even better—if you don’t subscribe to inaccurate information. Same thing for someone who believes that socialism is evil—it might be a person who really values autonomy. You can still do that without swallowing malarkey.
I don’t deny that people can often renounce important beliefs even if they didn’t have a “critical thinker” identity. But I do think that having such an identity will make it far more likely for them to renounce beliefs once they realize the beliefs don’t work, and also make them more likely to actively go out questioning their beliefs (as opposed to just renouncing incorrect ones once confronted).
I don’t necessarily think that “an identity of critical thinking” is the answer.
I’ve renounced beliefs, several times, that I thought were central to my identity, but weren’t backed up very well by the evidence. The pattern was that I would think about what I actually wanted to protect—what really mattered to me—and found that it wasn’t quite the same as the (false) belief in question, and that I could be truer to myself without illusions.
For example, someone who thinks capitalism is evil may, at root, be someone who really cares about preventing human suffering. You can still do that—you can do it even better—if you don’t subscribe to inaccurate information. Same thing for someone who believes that socialism is evil—it might be a person who really values autonomy. You can still do that without swallowing malarkey.
I don’t deny that people can often renounce important beliefs even if they didn’t have a “critical thinker” identity. But I do think that having such an identity will make it far more likely for them to renounce beliefs once they realize the beliefs don’t work, and also make them more likely to actively go out questioning their beliefs (as opposed to just renouncing incorrect ones once confronted).
That works well for idealistic folk—what about people who are more selfish or more apathetic?