I’ve previously mentioned some of the contradictions in my own thinking that I’ve noticed as I’ve become more self-aware. Although I used to either ignore contradictions or try to rationalize them, I’m now working on trying to resolve them. This is often easier said than done. Many contradictions that I find originate from deep-seated views that I’ve had for several years; some of them I’ve had for most of my life. Those are always difficult to question and even more difficult to change, even if I commit to doing so.
What I try to do when I feel up to it is focus on two contradictory views and see where my thoughts go. If I’m especially still, I can observe arguments forming to defend one view and attack the other without clinging to either type of argument; I can just be present and observe this unfolding. Once I’ve gotten that out of my system, I can then examine both views more closely. Sometimes I find a fatal flaw in one of them that causes the other to “win” by default. Other times I come to a middle ground between the two positions (although halfway between two extremes isn’t always the way to go). And still other times the contradiction remain unresolved and I simply learn more about how I think by examining the difference between those two positions.
I once went through a period of time during which I tried to resolve all contradictions I could find in my thinking. Even though this made me pretty good at thinking creatively and taking ideas to their full conclusions, it also drove me crazy at certain points. As of now, I still have plenty of unresolved contradictions from views I presently hold as well as views I abandoned somewhere along the way. And I’m sure that I’ll find or develop more contradictions as I continue to learn and grow. Maybe some contradictions are inevitable, either in thought process or within the universe itself. I’m ok with either option, and I’m ok with leaving some contradictions unresolved. I’d rather focus primarily on what I can do to make the world better and only occasionally try to resolve contradictions as a fun way to exercise my brain. I hope this was helpful or at least interesting to read and I’ll see you in the next post.