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My Biases

 

I try to be without bias. I think critically and listen to many perspectives.

I pay attention to how my own desires and experiences affect my thinking. I seek out data that contradicts my beliefs. I surround myself with people who think differently than I do.

But after every precuation, I still can’t escape bias. It will creep in. And sometimes I won’t even know it.

But there is more I can do to reach toward objectivity. I can tell you my biases. Then you can read my words while watching for my biases.

My biases don’t mean I’m wrong. I’m an atheist, but that doesn’t mean my arguments for atheism are wrong. You need to engage with the arguments themselves. If you dismiss my arguments because I’m an atheist, you are guilty of an ad hominem attack—a logical fallacy.

But it might help if you know my biases. Here they are:

• After hearing the arguments and looking at the evidence, I think “God” is no more likely to exist than Zeus. But I still read religious arguments every month.
• People should generally be free to do what they want with their own life, as long as they allow others the same privledge.
• Science is by far our most reliable source of knowledge. Here’s why.
• America’s founders wanted a secular nation, and things are best kept that way.
• The case for manmade global warming is overstated.

Now you know my biases. What are yours?