“The earth is flat and static, standing on a giant tortoise, where the sun is revolving around it” — this claim is not a rational truth for most of us in the 21st century. Meanwhile, the central dogma of molecular biology and Darwin’s theory of evolution are generally accepted as facts and claimed to be falsifiable only by some professionals in their respective fields. The unconditional acceptance of “undeniable” beliefs and principles — which may be collected through the scientific method, intuited by spiritual awakening, or gathered merely by observation —  is known as dogmatism. However, someone can always tell you that the dogma you hold  is erroneous. Dogmatism, on one hand, has produced people with exemplary values and lifestyles; the adherents of same dogma, on the other hand, have viciously massacred millions of innocent people. How can dogmatism have such extreme effects on people? 

Perhaps the foremost cause for humans to firmly believe in something is the incomplete ability  of the human intellect to perceive the world to its maximum. People rely on others who seem to be in some way superior. When one observes a person with some set of beliefs regarded as the noblest and the kindest among everyone, one is inclined to follow them. The best characteristics of human beings, such as empathy, compassion, and magnanimity, came from such dogmatism. While emulating others can give you a jackpot of moral values, internal peace, and happiness, it is a gamble that can lead you to become a crusader and a militant. 

Ignorance, or ego that has roots in ignorance, can also be considered as a cause of any kind of dogmatism, including nationalism, White supremacy, Arab supremacy, or even passive atheism. Some races think themselves superior over others for no particular reason. On the other hand, many are controlled not to pay heed to religious beliefs through antireligion campaigns. Entirely denying the facts, or refusing to even consider them, is the kind of dogmatism that nowadays plagues the world. People are not encouraged to ponder philosophical questions like ethics and morality, purpose of life, existence of any divine power or even who should rule them, either religiously or secularly.  

Brainwashing, mass media control, and totalitarianism — in a way they all are the same — are some of the modern techniques that are employed to control a population with dogmatism. Noam Chomsky calls such propaganda as “manufacturing consent”, by which a whole nation can be tamed. The brains, which have lost the ability to create or think, can be fed with any false information — or any dogma. A dogma, undoubtedly, can motivate one towards a struggle that enables one to achieve something exceptional that may be otherwise impossible. However, the consequences of such modern dogma are modern too: control of corporate crocodiles over society, increased mental disorders, obesity, suicides, dictatorship, tyranny, and so on.

Logic, a driving force for numerous theories and movements, highly depends on boundary conditions or environments that may change with time. Modernization is always required to update developed theories; otherwise, they just remain as dogma. Although such dogmatism, driven rationally in the first place, inspired discoveries of great music, artworks, cures of lethal diseases, poetry, and architecture, it has also brought chaos to minds and declared the absurdity of life known as existentialism or nihilism.

There are several driving forces behind dogmatism, which affects us at every scale, from ourselves to the nation and the whole globe. The dogmas are a sigh of relief if they are constructive for our society, such as our belief  in the medical profession. Dogmas that fuel the  existence of organizations like Nazis or ISIS should be suppressed in any society. It is, therefore,  important to develop critical thinking and to stay well-informed in order to guide oneself on the good and the bad of society.

 

I am Muhammad Akmal, a second year Ph.D student in MSE department. Primarily, I am exploring materials science for biomedical implants to find a cure for people who suffer with mishaps or accidents; however, my secondary interest is philosophy.

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