As I write this an election season is upon the USA. In observing the various races and in particular observing the race for POTUS I notice the too common phenomena of tribal behavior. I use the term tribal behavior to indicate the tendency to either support or oppose an idea based on the identity of the persons or persons proposing and supporting the idea rather than on the merits of the idea. Recent examples include the Affordable Care Act which was based in part on the ideas of Governor Romney who was a Republican yet is now denounced by many Republican politicians. Or consider tariffs and budge deficits. So does the anti-war movement often go into hibernation if a Democrat is in the office of POTUS as some have alleged?
I am not the first to make these observations. I do not expect a change anytime soon and I would not be surprised if the trend continues and possibly gets worse. My opinion is that what is needed is a deep and serious improvement in the ability of individuals to think critically about their own ideas with a view to discarding falsified ideas. This is different from the justification approach of searching around using the filter of retaining whatever supports one's current position and discarding whatever does not support one's current position. Unfortunately I do not see a shift away from the Justification approach in near future.
