Reply #29: Thinking rationally...

[RoyGBiv]

Rational thinking and open-mindedness aren't equal terms. One can be completely closed off from entertaining any but a single train of logic and be rational. Rationality has little to do with accepting various viewpoints. In fact, a train of rational logic can and often does seek to exclude other viewpoints.

Is there something in-between? I don't know. Is there such a thing as partly pregnant?

It seems to me one of the problems you are having is that you can't see a way to be open-minded about something with which you have a strong disagreement. It might help if you'd consider that being open-minded does not equate to agreement. It simply means being open to hearing the idea and not dismissing it out of hand. For example, I think Creationism, as a science, is a bunch of crap. But, every time some new bit of evidence comes across my consciousness in favor of Creationism, I look at it and consider it, and when I realize it's just the same thing re-stated in a new way, I dismiss it. I am not being closed-minded. I am considering the facts that are available and forming an opinion, which I will hold until some genuinely new and convincing evidence makes me think otherwise.

In a more practical sense relative to politics, all being open-minded means is that one is willing to entertain new solutions to problems and does not instantly retract when those ideas challenge his or her preconceived notions. It's thinking outside the box. We all have prejudices, yes, but the open-minded person recognizes this and seeks to overcome its negative influence.