People who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are also the most critical of it

People have different attitudes to an idea or policy, committed or critical or both, depending on their understanding about it. One group of them are those who are the most deeply committed to an idea or policy are also the most critical of it——they seem to be the paradox, which are not lack of the examples in the society. But there are also such group of people who are always deeply attached to an idea or policy, never waver. Now the detailed analysis is as follows.

Generally speaking, people are deeply committed to an idea or policy, which they have made a better understanding, based on their knowledge and experience. Often they are equipped with rich knowledge about this idea or policy by looking for and reading a lot of books about it, sometimes they do not stop learning until they completely comprehend it. As for an idea or policy, they will make their conclusions with rational, scientific analysis, especially for a policy, they consider what it will bring about to them, beneficial to individuals or a group of individuals, and the feasibility of it under the present conditions, and the consequences to both human beings and the circumstance when it is implemented. In some sense, it is an extraordinary process for them continually to explore it, discuss it, accumulate lore about it.

With the in-depth cognition, they gradually discover the drawbacks, flaws about the idea or policy, even that the idea or policy is questionable, afterwards they become fastidious about it, and hope that the idea or policy is more perfect. Scientists are such example, who question about the idea to which they are deeply committed. For instance, Darwin, the founder of theory of evolution, admitted that his theory had some weaknesses——the emerged species that had already developed completely, the evolutionary species that had not been found, no intermediate species. Moreover, he was a Christian but doubted it, later he gave up this faith owing to his daughter’s death. Now neo-Darwinism has been formed, which explained that the origin of species is because a chain of accidental chemistry reaction, yet it is also criticized by evolutionists, who question the theory itself, and hold the views that there is no immediate species, just as Darwin pointed out. From this perspective, people who are committed to an idea do not stop questioning the idea as they collect new data about it. Another instance is Confuscius, as a great thinker in China, who wondered that his theory had the idea of brainwashing education like the sense of hierarchy, and his words and thoughts largely were for the rulers to dominate the common people.

However, it is not all the people deeply committed to an idea or policy who are also critical of it. Everybody knows that no president in the world opposites his policies that he makes whatever it brings about to the public. They believe in the infallibility and authority of their policies, and they have firm confidence that all the policies they make always benefit the nation’s future development and progress, and improve the welfare of the people. But, some people do no think so. Now, take a piece of China’s policy as an example, Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest power station, has been a controversial topic both domestically and abroad. Wangli Huang, the famous water conservancy engineering expert, violently opposed the project of Three Gorges Dam from the start of its design to the completion, because he believed that it would result in serious damage in the future to both people and nature, unfortunately, the government did not take his advice, who regarded it as a social and economic success. There are countless examples in the society, such as scientists, enterprisers, doctors, educators, parents, and so on. Particularly, parents in China believe that they never make mistakes in educating their children, and insist on their idea which their children must observe.

In short, the speaker’s claim very well reflects the phenomenon that people aver the paradox who are both the most committed to an idea or policy and the most critical of it——which, to me, is wise, reasonable for people to develop a kind of critical thinking. But in addition to the statement, other situations also exist, which is people who keep on an idea or policy in their whole life.