Intellectual Dishonesty

Published: July 19, 2018, 6:56 p.m.

b'One of the key tenants is not to lie or bear false witness\\nBut there is a form of lying that most people overlook, don\\u2019t acknowledge or give a pass to and this is what makes it so dangerous \\nIt is called intellectual dishonesty\\nWe each have beliefs that we hold, either religious or non-religious, that we consider to be true.\\xa0\\nAnd it is scary to think that we have understandings and belief that may not be true. \\nSo rather than try to understand these fallacies that we may believe we ignore them. \\nA description of a submitter should be truth-seeker, a person who loves the truth irrespective where it takes us. \\n[43:78] "We have given you the truth, but most of you hate the truth."\\nWe all consider ourselves virtuous. We think that we would be on the side of righteousness. \\nWe try to avoid the disconnect we would feel to think that some of our beliefs may not be true. \\nDon\\u2019t believe everything you think. \\nMy favorite definition of Truth is that which does not change. \\nIf we think we have the truth then that means there is no evidence that will change our belief\\nBut as Submitters we are constantly learning and evolving our beliefs. Foundationally our belief in God, in the last Day and leading a righteous life should never change, but as we learn our understanding continues to evolve and progress. \\nBut the only way that is going to happen is by being receptive to different points of views. \\nMost people, when presented with differing points of views, will become immediately defensive. \\nThey see a different point of view as an attack on themselves\\n[8:8] For He has decreed that the truth shall prevail, and the falsehood shall vanish, in spite of the evildoers. \\n[17:81] Proclaim, "The truth has prevailed, and falsehood has vanished; falsehood will inevitably vanish.\\u201d\\nIf our beliefs are true they will stand on their own\\nThe truth doesn\\u2019t need us to exagerate, to fabricate or morph the other side argument to make it seem more appealing\\nIt is tempting to demonize the other side before you assess the validity of their argument\\nOften times people believe that \\u201cMy side is right the other side are terrible human beings\\u201d\\nOr they cannot perceive how a decent human being can have a different opinion than they do\\xa0 \\nThey think that anyone who disagrees with me is an idiot = they can\\u2019t be right and they must be stopped\\xa0 \\nWe need to separate the beliefs we hold from ourselves\\nThis form of tribalism will not draw us any closer to God. \\nYou Shall Not Bear False Witness \\n[4:135] O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do. \\nIn the Quran God tells us:\\nHow to Spread God\'s Message \\n[16:125] You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who are the guided ones. \\nIt is tempting when debating with others to frame their argument in the weakest form imaginable or even worse to twist the other sides viewpoints to make them seem ridiculous to believe\\nThis is called a straw-man argument \\nWhen we do this we are being intellectually dishonest\\nWe are framing the other side in a manner that they are not representing and when we do this we are bearing false witness:\\n[5:8] O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses. Do not be provoked by your conflicts with some people into committing injustice. You shall be absolutely equitable, for it is more righteous. You shall observe GOD. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do. \\nWhen we lie we are revealing our insecurity and trying to preserve our egos\\xa0 \\nCreate the strongest form of argum'