Indoctrination

Indoctrination is teaching people to accept beliefs without critically examining them. Education shouldn’t do this. It’s not just facts or opinions that need to be taught, but how to think and critically examine your beliefs.

The opportunity for indoctrination is probably greatest in areas where opinions form a large part of the subject. But opportunity doesn’t mean that indoctrination will take place. Learning to critically examine your beliefs should always form part of any course of study. Areas like philosophy, religion, politics, history and ethics offer scope for indoctrination in the hands of dishonest teachers. Areas such as mathematics, where what is taught is a skill where you learn how to think about quantifying reality, have less scope for indoctrination. The practice of science always holds that any knowledge is subject to change as more facts come to light. The teaching of science should emphasise this.

Indoctrination these days is probably more prevalent outside of education institutions where conspiracy theorists with their new found platforms, prey on people's fears and paranoia. Scepticism is a healthy attitude but not when it’s boiled down to denialism or the cynical rejection of any facts that you can’t understand or that you don’t agree with. It seems that tribalism has polarised people to the extent that any politically motivated disinformation that supports pre-existing confirmation bias is automatically and uncritically accepted.

This has lead to the spread of the denial of: gender identity, evolution, the moon landing, space, gravity and climate change; and beliefs in: bigfoot, god, flat earth, alien abductions, lizard-people-baby-eaters taking over the Democrat party, nefarious Chemtrails/GMOs/drones/vaccines, Covid-19 plandemic, 5G mind control, grassy knoll JFK shooter and the death of Paul McCartney*.

*The “Paul is dead” conspiracy got a new lease of life in 2017 after his appearance at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. My wife, Zibbee and I were in the front row. She had seen The Beatles in 1965 at Shea Stadium in New York and so had her expandable SHEA 65 sign with her. While Paul was interacting with the crowd he spotted the sign and asked, “Shea 65?”. Zibbee went ballistic. “What? In New York?”. More madness from Zibbee. “That was before my time.” Paul joked. This was widely reported on the conspiracy networks as Paul admitting that it wasn't him, but the original Paul, at Shea in 1965. The conspiracy lived on.