Last November I started this series on humility and I want to return to it.
Before diving in, I should summarize a bit – in Part 1 I argued that when we ask “What does it mean to be a Christian?” a key answer is humility. Following Jesus begins and ends with humility. It is central to the Christian faith and so needed for a healthier society. Second, the depth of our humility is relative to our understanding of sin.* In Part 2 I explained how humility corresponds to the grain of the universe, namely that sin impacts not only individuals, but also groups, our subconscious and even the universe itself. Importantly, we are blinded by our sin to our sin. One example of that is how false narratives mar our identities, which is the subject of Part 3. As humans, we need stories. But the stories we tell are always incomplete. In short, we often whitewash our stories and overlook sin. In what follows I want to explore another way we are blinded by sin to our sin.
In the last few years, I have been utterly floored and confounded at the ubiquity, the power and the far reaching implications of cognitive biases. It is a rabbit hole with no end, and has enlightened my understanding of humanity’s sinful nature. The granddaddy of them is confirmation bias, epitomized in this ancient aphorism:
You are not satisfied
The Lost Writings of Wu Hsin, approximately 400 B.C.E.
With the answers
Given by others.
So you come to Wu Hsin.
But what you really seek
Are not answers
But confirmation
Of what you think
You already know.
If you were to admit
That you know nothing,
Then I will most gladly answer.
Confirmation bias is the modus operandi for human thinking. Rather than seeking reality or truth, we are constantly on the lookout for what confirms our current beliefs. I remember the first time I heard about confirmation bias – I kind of snickered as I considered how “so many people do that!” That is, everyone but me. I later learned of the blind spot bias: People are largely blind to their own cognitive biases. We will accept that biases exist in others, but tend to deny that we ourselves have biases.
Why take the speck out of your brothers eye when you have a plank in your own?
When it comes to bias, it’s not if but when bias is impacting us.
The examples of this are everywhere. Politicians use cognitive bias to spin arguments. Confirmation bias actually causes us to deny facts. Confirmation bias steals our attention and hijacks our emotional response.
I could go on, but others have and do much better.[1] As I have learned more, I continue to be struck by just how many cognitive biases there are! I heartily recommend reading through the list to get an idea of the many ways we fool ourselves. It is impossible to think clearly without falling prey to these mental shortcuts.
The scary thing about cognitive bias is that as we learn more about how the brain is wired, the more potential we have to be manipulated. If I can identify a weakness in you and use it to my gain, without you knowing it, who’s going to stop me?
It is not if we sin, but how and when.
Conclusion
We are broken creatures in need of humility. Yet our sinful nature is not something to feel guilty over. It is a fact we must accept. Feeling guilty for committing a wrong is helpful because that guilt might motivate behavior change. We must also acknowledge that our subconscious is riddled with inconsistencies and bias. Doing so takes one more step toward reality.
Such latent, ubiquitous sin leaves us in a profound sense of humility and need for grace. Hopefully this recognition leads to humility, which evolves into a gratitude for grace.
My whole point here is merely to try and move the needle on humility. It is something to live and breath, on the daily.
Blessings in the Journey toward humility!
*As I think more about this statement, I don’t think it’s always true. “Knowledge puffs up,” right? Those most humble often understand less.
[1] As mentioned, cognitive biases have grown as an important field of psychology, and there are numerous books that have popularized the research. The biggest and (likely) best is Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow. Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for his work and his book summarizes his findings. A perhaps better (ie. shorter) introduction is Ariely’s Predictably Irrational. But if you would like an even shorter, blog-like introduction, see here. I highly recommend reading more on the subject! It helps to internalize the ideas (or try to).
Seeking the Kingdom 