Stephen Colbert and Philosophy - Aaron Allen Schiller [19]
This duplicity shows in Tip Number One to parents, to “Set Some Rules.” As Colbert writes, “Don’t worry if a rule makes sense—the important thing is that it’s a rule. Arbitrary rules teach kids discipline: If every rule made sense, they wouldn’t be learning respect for authority, they’d be learning logic” (p. 11). One irony here is that Colbert has no confidence in reason or patience with making sense of rules, yet critical thinking requires precisely that people understand the reasoning behind agreements.
Worse yet, Colbert has said, “I believe in free speech as much as the next authoritarian.”28 His chief problem with logic, then, seems to be that it can be used to show how an authority like him may be wrong. Because Colbert assumes that an authority is by definition right, logic cannot be right. But by definition authority only involves “the right and power to command” (Webster’s), and may be right or wrong, just or unjust.
For Colbert, however, authority matters more than truth or justice. And Colbert values not just his own authority. He defers to pundits, such as Bill O’Reilly, whom he judges authoritative. The mindset implies that logic should submit to authority, rather than promote, as the APA does, “rational autonomy” and “intellectual freedom” from dictation by any authority.
What’s more, the authority that often matters most to Colbert is his own. When he titles his book I Am America (And So Can You!), he implies at once that he as an individual encompasses all of America’s diversity. But with his subtitle, he suggests that anyone else can claim such authority, just as egotistically as he does. At once, this seems to contradict his belief in himself as ultimate authority—if others can be America, then what does that make him? Colbert might reply, however, that this makes him the one everyone needs most in order to be all that they can be (Army motto intended). In contrast to openness to different perspectives, Colbert suggests you should close your mind as often as possible, except when opening it to the idea that Colbert’s mind is the one that matters most.
But Colbert’s is an equal opportunity closed mind for he values not only his own opinion. He also values the Bible as an exemplar of truth claims, arguing, “it’s the best selling book of all time… . The market doesn’t lie.” This statement illustrates the logical fallacy of the appeal to popularity, by assuming that what the majority thinks must be right. The problem? The majority could simply be deluded or misinformed.
In his own book, Colbert further lauds the Bible: “The only good book is the Good Book. Come on, the word ‘Good’ is right there in the title” (p. 122). First, Colbert uses a cliché but then represents it as the actual title of the work. This lets him avoid facing his bias towards the book, and instead imply again that merely saying something is good makes it good. But not just anyone can say so. To Colbert’s character, the ultimate justification for his version of the truth is simply that it is his truth.
Therefore, while he’s no fan of books, Colbert has a reason for why he wrote one himself: “Well, like a lot of other dictators, there is one man’s opinion that I value above all others. Mine.” He parodies the tendency to seek only whatever would further validate one’s own opinions and preconceptions, rather than be open to other views. By contrast, open-mindedness means welcoming contrary perspectives and trying to become comfortable with difference.
Truthseeking in the No Fact Zone: Helping You Spread the Message of Me
Truthseeking:
• honesty in facing one’s own biases, prejudices, stereotypes, or