In our polarized society, it’s easy to line up experts on either side of an issue. Who are we to believe? Should we even listen to the experts?
I think there’s no question that we should listen to experts. What that means is that we should listen to people who know a lot about a subject. For example, if I am going to build something, I am going to ask my friend Mark Smothers who has worked in home construction for decades. If I’m going to apply for the PPP loan, I’m going to ask my friend Bob Chesser, an accountant, who has spent countless hours studying this issue for his clients. This seems clear and obvious.
So, why is it that people balk at listening to experts when expert economists or scientists speak on a subject? One reason is that these people are presented as infallible sources whom we should believe if we are in favor of “science.” Reinhold Niebuhr noted that the rise of science in Western culture “gave modern culture a special animus against ‘dogma.’ But unfortunately it was not prepared to deal with the hidden dogmas in prescriptions of science itself” (The Self and the Dramas of History, 114).
What most people recognize, especially when an expert disagrees with them in something they think is important is that:
- The experts don’t have perfect knowledge.
- The experts aren’t always logical.
- The experts disagree with each other.
- The experts have been wrong in the past.
- The experts have bias.
And so do we. The trouble is that what we see clearly of the expert we do not see clearly of ourselves. That’s why the Proverbs set forth this principle: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Prov. 15:22). In order to grasp a subject well, we need to hear a variety of voices.
The Proverbs has a word for a person who does not listen to many advisers: a fool. A fool simply goes with their own knowledge. There is also a more sophisticated version of the fool in our time. It is the person who does extensive research looking for that which confirms his or her own viewpoint. It’s easy to do. You just look up people who agree with you. Most of the time, we do this without thinking. It’s called confirmation bias. It’s the human tendency to only see those things that confirm what we already think.
I remember a conversation I had at a gym with a particular individual. He said, “I love Google. It’s amazing what you can find there. It turns out that there’s pretty much a consensus of experts that the ancient pyramids and other ancient monuments were the work of aliens.” Uh huh. Confirmation bias. We see that which confirms our viewpoint.
So, what are we to do? We should be humble about the state of our own knowledge. We should listen to the experts. We should listen to those who have studied a subject a great deal. We should listen to the arguments of those who have expertise. This is wisdom.
I would suggest an important additional step. Before we come to a conclusion, we should listen to a counter-point. We should sympathetically listen to both sides of an issue. Here is solid wisdom: “In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines” (Proverbs 18:17). Many things seem right until we listen to a carefully reasoned refutation from a different perspective. Even if we don’t change our mind, listening to an alternative viewpoint will enrich our perspective.
Someone may object that this takes too much time. Sometimes we have to make decisions on the basis of insufficient information. If we do, then we do. If we make a mistake, we can correct it. Many times, however, we don’t. We can afford to wait. So, why not wait until we have heard all we need to in order to make a full conclusion? This should be our default. “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13). This means that we should be cautious about coming to a conclusion too quickly.
Finally, we should think for ourselves. God has given each one of us responsibility in our own sphere to think through things and make decisions. Our conscience dictates that we should only believe that for which we believe there is enough evidence and act only in accord with what we understand to be right and good. This is a duty that we cannot outsource and ought not surrender to anyone else.
So, should we listen to experts? Absolutely. We would be foolish not to, but we should always evaluate what they say. We should listen in order to understand those arguments, and we should evaluate those arguments with the best tools we have available. That is how we grow in wisdom and knowledge and learn how to act in a way that benefits ourselves and those around us and glorifies God.
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