What’s your point of view?

What stance do you take when you consider something? When you stop and take notice, you will realise that your stance changes according to the subject, and the source of any information.

Remember, for example, how we looked a couple of days ago at the trust that a child has for the adults in its life, often believing without question anything they say or imply. Similarly, it is common for us to trust that those in authority are telling us the truth. Many of us have also believed something we read in a newspaper, especially a broadsheet or ‘quality’ publication, only to find later that the information was flawed. On the other hand, we might dismiss out of hand something said by a person who looks or behaves differently from the norm, or who has some ideas that we find unpalatable. And by refusing even to consider their point of view, we might miss something of value.

I’ve found it helpful to categorise the various attitudes I might adopt and watch which one I am using in any given situation.

If I am trusting, I have a firm belief in the reliability, honesty, veracity or justice of the information offered to me. I might automatically adopt this stance if the source of the information is a trusted friend, an authority figure I respect, or someone with similar views to my own.

I am being sceptical if I am inclined to suspend judgment for the time being, question the truth of a fact or the soundness of an inference, or to ‘have reservations.’ I’m likely to reserve my judgment if the source of some information is unknown to me or if I don’t yet know anything about the subject.

The opposite of trust is cynicism. If I am in a cynical state of mind, I am doubting human sincerity and goodness, perhaps automatically believing the worst of people (there is also a secondary definition of cynicism, more and more commonly used, which is, ‘showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one’s actions, especially by actions that exploit the scruples of others.’ That’s perhaps a subject for another day!). I am likely to employ cynicism if I dislike or mistrust the source of some information or if I am feeling low or in a bad mood!

A lot of the time, we can be quite proficient at choosing an appropriate stance. Sometimes, however, we can trip ourselves up. Many of us have changed our opinion on the reliability of a newspaper or television programme, for example, the moment they reported something we knew about and we realised that their grasp of the facts was flawed or even misleading. And I know that I have been reluctant to listen to someone just because I found their views or lifestyle a bit too eccentric, only to find, a few months or years later, that they have wisdom and experience which could be really valuable to me.

Has something like this ever happened to you? What stance do you adopt when you read or listen to the news, take note of what politicians say, or watch a TV ad? And how do you receive information from a new and possibly bizarre source?

I wouldn’t want to suggest that we cast to the winds our accustomed ways of thinking and assimilating messages. That would involve discarding a lot of wisdom and good judgment! I have found it valuable, however, to ask myself, every now and then, ‘what is my stance?’ ‘Am I being trusting, sceptical or cynical, and is it appropriate?’ ‘Might I be losing out because I am believing without question or dismissing without investigation?’

What’s your experience? I’d love to know – please leave a comment and share. And if you’d like to keep in touch, why not sign up for my newsletter? There’s a link just below this post