Generalization trap

 Before I tell you the "mystery" of philosophical thinking, this time I would like to talk about the way of thinking that is one step ahead.

There are two points. Once, "What is the reason for studying? --I wrote it in the book "How to Make Our" Answer "" (Nihon Hyoronsha), but here I would like to restate it from a slightly different angle.

One is that it does not fall into the "generalization trap". The other is that you can't get caught up in the "magic of questioning".

This time, I would like to talk about the former first.

1. 1. Generalization trap

Be careful of "experience"

First, let's think about the following themes.

In our society, there are times when the difference in the family in which we were born makes a big difference in our social status.

Because I happened to be born in a rich family, there are people who have been blessed with various educational opportunities from an early age and have achieved great social success. But on the other hand, there are people who happen to be born in poor families and are forced to live the day because they do not have the opportunity to receive a satisfactory education.

What do you think of such a society?

We basically think about these problems based on our own "experience".

If you were born into a rich family, you might take that blessed "experience" as a matter of course and argue that society is unequal in the first place.

Alternatively, another person born into a similarly wealthy family may feel responsible for correcting such a society through the “experience” of seeing and hearing about social inequality.

A person born in a poor family may violently condemn an ​​unequal society because of his painful "experience". On the other hand, another person may criticize the poor for lack of guts because of the "experience" that has risen from poverty through hard work.

Everyone can talk only from experience. So that's not a problem in itself.

But if we over-generalize that experience and insist that it's absolutely right, that's a big problem.

I hear stories like "poor people are struggling to make efforts!" "It's their own responsibility!" And, on the contrary, "everyone is rich!"

But it must be said that it is a "generalization" of too terrible experience.

No matter how hard you try, you may not be able to get out of poverty for various reasons such as illness or parental care. Some rich people will be returning the money they earn to society.

Nevertheless, we too often over-generalize our experience.

I call this a "generalization trap".

What is important in dialogues and discussions is to exchange experiences and ideas with each other and find a "common understanding" of how far we can be convinced without falling into such "generalization traps". To do.

In the above example, instead of over-generalizing, such as "poverty is self-responsibility" or "no, inequality is absolute evil", for example, "what kind of equality?" It is necessary to reconcile each other's ideas in such a way as to "how far should it be realized?"

If you ask, it ’s a matter of course. But we can easily get caught up in this "generalization trap".

There are quite a lot of "intellectuals" who over-generalize their experiences, even in national and local "intellectuals' meetings". It's like, "I raised my child to be a top athlete with this method of education, so every school should adopt this method of education!"

However, we need to be aware that our experience is nothing more than our own. Perhaps the top athlete just happened to fit the teaching method.

Watch out for "beliefs"

In this series, I have repeatedly said that philosophy is a way of thinking that gives insight into the "essence" of things.

This is sometimes called "essential view" in philosophy. What is the essence of love? What is the essence of education? What is the essence of a "good" society? To grasp, that is, to grasp the "essence" of such things well. As much as possible, try to pick up words that make everyone groan, "The more you see, the more essential it is." That is the essence.

I would like to talk about the specific method in a future series.

What I would like you to keep in mind this time is that you need to be careful not to fall into the "generalization trap" even when doing this essence.

For example, let's assume that some people have an idea of ​​the essence of "education".

Education in particular is a theme that many people tend to firmly hold their beliefs because everyone has experience.

If you have overcome the fierce competition for academic ability, you may say that education is a ranking through competition. Or, if the school has been terribly disgusting, one might argue that education is a prison to make a child obedient to power.

Of course, it is okay to assert such an idea as an individual opinion. However, when we take a look at the essence, we need to constantly look back on whether it is an opinion that has fallen into a "generalization trap." Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to gain insight into the essence of things by simply expressing each other's experiences and beliefs.

The more we stick to our strong "belief", the more often our essence will be overshadowed. When we take a look at the essence, we must be especially aware of our "belief".

How to discuss

A few years ago, I had a lecture in front of the heavyweights who had led the Japanese economy so far, with an average age of about 75 years old. The theme was how to plan and practice future education.

Of course, the heavyweights have a lot to say about this theme. Everyone leaned forward and listened to the story of 30 or so young priests. It was a really scary time.

However, when I talked about this "generalization trap", I noticed that the facial expressions of the heavyweights began to change.

After the one-hour lecture, when it was time for questions and answers and discussions, hands were raised one after another. And each of them vigorously developed their own theories such as "The Imperial Rescript on Education should be revived!" And "We should teach more morals!" ... But before we could start such a story, Almost everybody told me this.

"This may be a" generalization trap "..."

"I may have over-generalized my experience ..."

Every time, a warm laugh occurred at the venue.

Only one word, but I thought again that this word was really important.

"I don't get caught up in the generalization trap". This little attitude makes the discussion much more constructive. The big names in the business world, by saying so at the beginning, opened a channel of "dialogue" with me instead of unilaterally asserting their theory.

Do not just hit your beliefs against the other person. Being aware that this may be a selfish idea, throw it at the other party. In that way, I ask the "common understanding possibility" of my idea.

That is the most important thing when we have dialogues and discussions.