Cultivating the humility to recognize both the positive and negative aspects of acculturation, and exercising the critical thinking necessary to attach ourselves to truth that exists beyond ourselves.
I think the opposite could also be a bad habit: the “it’s all relative” or “everything is equal.” Some things really are better than others and one of the most important critical thinking skills is the ability to make distinctions. Life involves choosing between better and worse. Sometimes, what one has really is better and one should be grateful and recognize one’s good fortune.
To go even further, I think it’s a very good thing that human nature contains within it the bias to prefer one’s own. I pity the sad soul who cannot prefer his own family because he believes all human beings are one family. I think there’s something wrong with that. I also think human beings should prefer their own country. It is natural and good to do so, even as it can be fallacious to let that blind one to objective truth.
I know you agree with this, but I still felt it needed to be said. Sometimes, critical thinking seems to be defined as getting rid of all prejudices, but as conservatives we know that some prejudices are to be preferred to their absence: moral relativism and nihilism.
“ 1) The Mine-Is-Better Habit”
I think the opposite could also be a bad habit: the “it’s all relative” or “everything is equal.” Some things really are better than others and one of the most important critical thinking skills is the ability to make distinctions. Life involves choosing between better and worse. Sometimes, what one has really is better and one should be grateful and recognize one’s good fortune.
To go even further, I think it’s a very good thing that human nature contains within it the bias to prefer one’s own. I pity the sad soul who cannot prefer his own family because he believes all human beings are one family. I think there’s something wrong with that. I also think human beings should prefer their own country. It is natural and good to do so, even as it can be fallacious to let that blind one to objective truth.
I know you agree with this, but I still felt it needed to be said. Sometimes, critical thinking seems to be defined as getting rid of all prejudices, but as conservatives we know that some prejudices are to be preferred to their absence: moral relativism and nihilism.