Anti-Persuassion

Persuasion is a popular topic these days. I suppose it has been for a long time; it's an important topic and you can learn a lot reading up on the subject. Convincing people to come around to your side on things can be very beneficial, as I'm sure you can imagine.

However, not much is said about defense against persuasion. I'm sure one exists, but I can't think of single book extolling the virtues of stubbornness. A cursory search on the Amazon Kindle store doesn't yield anything meaningful, either. (If you find one, let me know; sounds like a good book.)

In fact, it seems to me that stubbornness is almost always framed as something to be overcome. But, I suggest you reconsider the utility of being relentlessly stubborn, even in the face of highly persuasive arguments.

Now, you've got to be reasonable when you read this. I'm about to tell you what's great about being stubborn, something you've maybe never heard before. This could be the first time. But, I'm not saying you should never be persuaded by others or that you should ignore good arguments for other points of view. You've got to exercise some wisdom, here. There is a time and place for all things.

That being said, is it possible there is something useful about stubbornness, about a refusal to change your point of view? Well, you need only consider the following facts and I think you'll find that what I'm saying has to be true.

1. Persuasive arguments can lead open minded people to adopt new points of view.
2. It's possible to make persuasive arguments in favor of objectively bad ideas.
3. It's possible that you lack the information, experience, or wherewithal to mount a convincing or even rational counterargument, even if such an argument does exist.

We certainly agree that we live in a world where all of these facts are true. Therefore, your only hope in defending yourself against the consequences of adopting a bad set of ideas you can't argue against is to resolutely refuse to change your outlook on things.

Now, when and where you choose to deploy stubbornness and openness is going be a matter of wisdom and of good systems of thinking. Things just aren't so cut and dry in the real world. But for now, I just want you to consider how a deep rooted refusal to budge can be an important defensive tactic for people. The wisdom of the ancients might look like foolishness to a later generation, only for a long-ago-foreseen disaster to strike and remind humanity why people did things the way they used to. This is why the idea of principles exist, wise axioms and heuristics used to guide your behavior through murky circumstances.

You've no doubt seen this illustrated in fantasy without thinking about it these terms. Just imagine a scene where the villain has the hero on the ropes. It looks like the good guy will soon be overpowered. What's worse, the villain mocks our hero and disparages his weakness. But, despite his injuries and his failures up until now, the hero rises up again and refuses to believe in the villain's lies. We all know what happens next.

So, in short, keep an open mind as you go about your days. But, don't forget to keep a heavy shield around for when things start looking risky.