The far-right and conspiracy theorists have co-opted "free thinker"

[ProgressiveModerate]

This is a big pet peeve of mine - the far-right and generally conspiratorial types calling themselves free thinkers and using it to justify "questioning" things. It's fine to question things, the issue here is they usually ask these questions with tunnel vision to try and support the idea vaccines are implanting microchips in us or that Democrats are actively trying to replace white people. There's also a bit of irony because these people who self-identify as free thinkers mostly just repeat the same 5 one-liners from their side.

I think we should promote free thinkers but as people who are actually educated, who can ask questions and develop their own nuanced positions, are willing to hold unpopular views if they believe they're right, and so on. Free thinkers are important for democracy, but it's hard to get that message across when the so called free thinkers are all just conspiracy theorists.

[cg41386]

Agreed. It's been like this for a long time now.

[jojoju1998]

This is a big pet peeve of mine - the far-right and generally conspiratorial types calling themselves free thinkers and using it to justify "questioning" things. It's fine to question things, the issue here is they usually ask these questions with tunnel vision to try and support the idea vaccines are implanting microchips in us or that Democrats are actively trying to replace white people. There's also a bit of irony because these people who self-identify as free thinkers mostly just repeat the same 5 one-liners from their side.

I think we should promote free thinkers but as people who are actually educated, who can ask questions and develop their own nuanced positions, are willing to hold unpopular views if they believe they're right, and so on. Free thinkers are important for democracy, but it's hard to get that message across when the so called free thinkers are all just conspiracy theorists.

The problem is; these free thinkers mistrust Western Academia, and so for a liberal, expecting a  " free thinker " to enter the mainstream of American life is redundant. However, this also is a impetus on the right. Because who are the mainstream right wing intellectuals who can effectively challenge what they perceive to be the left ? And not repeat the same old Reaganism ?


Where is the evangelical Notre Dame ? At least in the Catholic World, there's Ross doutht, Bishop Robert Barron.

[jojoju1998]

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-wasting-of-the-evangelical-mind

[T'Chenka]

FREE thinker... FREE from the constraints of evidence, logic and reasoning.

[Ferguson97]

I have never known anyone, right or left, who self-described as a free thinker, and was actually intelligent.

[Ancestral Republican]

This is a big pet peeve of mine - the far-right and generally conspiratorial types calling themselves free thinkers and using it to justify "questioning" things. It's fine to question things, the issue here is they usually ask these questions with tunnel vision to try and support the idea vaccines are implanting microchips in us or that Democrats are actively trying to replace white people. There's also a bit of irony because these people who self-identify as free thinkers mostly just repeat the same 5 one-liners from their side.

I think we should promote free thinkers but as people who are actually educated, who can ask questions and develop their own nuanced positions, are willing to hold unpopular views if they believe they're right, and so on. Free thinkers are important for democracy, but it's hard to get that message across when the so called free thinkers are all just conspiracy theorists.

The problem is; these free thinkers mistrust Western Academia, and so for a liberal, expecting a  " free thinker " to enter the mainstream of American life is redundant. However, this also is a impetus on the right. Because who are the mainstream right wing intellectuals who can effectively challenge what they perceive to be the left ? And not repeat the same old Reaganism ?


Where is the evangelical Notre Dame ? At least in the Catholic World, there's Ross doutht, Bishop Robert Barron.

The evangelical Notre dame is Liberty University, but is not an intellectually credible institution.