Comments on: How to Read Books You Disagree With

By: Scott Young

Scott Young — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:31:50 +0000

Azzeyi,

Perhaps you’re correct. But you just spent a long paragraph saying why you disagreed with my idea, so at some level that seems to refute your point.

-Scott

By: Azzeyi

Azzeyi — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:58:52 +0000

I can’t understand why one ought to agree or disagree with something; my approach to reading is to suspend judgement indefinitely, as I see no reason to agree or disagree with what I read, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. A book on scientotechnology, for example, might conclude that civilization is a good thing, while a book on anarchoprimitivism might conclude that it is not. Which one is better? Well, I think there is no such thing; there is no conclusion, theory, worldview, or ideology that is perfect, and indeed none is in any way better or worse than the rest. Everything is just part of the human mind. I read because I want to study the human mind in order to better understand myself, so I feel no urgency to judge books. I just read them, try to understand the writer’s state of mind and general worldview, and then I proceed with the next book, whatever it is: fiction or nonfiction, political or religious, freemarket or communist, fascist or anarchist, nationalist or democratic, scientific or technical, artistic or down-to-earth, academic or popular, sociological or psychological, self-help or reference, historical or current, banned or mass-marketed, in English or in French, in Latin or in Greek, in Russian or in German (yes I do know all these languages). The tip is to suspect judgement and study the author’s inner mind rather than their propositions in print. The book is merely a unanimate product of a living mind, and if you only focus on the book itself or its conclusions and try to judge it according to your own philosophy you miss the opportunity to expand your mind by comprehending the mind of the author whose book you read. While you might think that reading a book helps you expand your mind, I assure you that it doesn’t; reading books only gets you into contact with the wider human intellect and expands your own intellect, but not your mind. The mind has a lot more than a mere intellect: it has emotions, will, pathologies, and instincts, all of which are slightly different from person to person, and it is these differences that you can understand by reading without judging. This understanding can make you a more complete person, effectively copying part of the mind of the author into your own mind, and as a result you will be able to explain humanity better and use this insight for whatever you want, according to your own will.

By: James

James — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:22:35 +0000

I find that I tend to learn more from books that surprise me also.

By: J.D. Meier

J.D. Meier — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:22:47 +0000

I get the most out of books that surprise me.

I find my own arguments are stronger if I’m rounded in the alternative points of view. Multiple perspectives is the best vantage point.

By: ggw_bach

ggw_bach — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:13:45 +0000

maybe reading books that present a viewpoint you don’t agree with is not the best way to challenge yourself; such approaches involve a big commitment, and an actual spending of money. TV media is not necessarily a better route; as the presentation can usually be quite inflammatory. I’ve found audio interviews to be an exceptional way to expand the mind’s vocabulary of ideas. Especially when done by an interviewer who is sympathetic but not partisan, and asks non-attacking questions. KERA’s ‘Think’ program has been an ear opener for me in such respects.