What is dogma?

[Hulk]

Is dogma bad? How to identify dogma?

What is the use of dogma?

[Eternal Unity]

Nothing is "bad". Not in the absolute sense, at least. 

Dogma, in my opinion, is a set of principles that must be obeyed in order to get a certain result, the principles laid down by an authority who claim that those principles are incontrovertibly true. Usually, you can see it in religious doctrines. It served its purpose as fear theology for millenea.

[Gesundheit2]

And if I told you, would you believe me?

Edited July 10, 2021 by Gesundheit2

[Kalki Avatar]

Dogma is to be indoctrinated without knowing so. 

When you adopt beliefs unconsciously and unwillingly, they become part of your identity, so you dont question them because that may mean death in some way. 

[Eph75]

@Hulk

Unfavorable when looking for development.

If you want to call it "bad" from the point of view that dogma prohibits or slows development down, then yes, "bad" in the sense that it's not helping us to grow if that's what we desire. 

Dogma is when you take something as such fundamental truth that you don't even see it as optional or a belief, and it is so obviously true to you and given that you wouldn't or couldn't question it.

That is, completely stuck in the current belief. 

The use for dogma is to conserve energy by having absolute beliefs. You don't have to assess right or wrong by having absolute beliefs that serve subconscious and autonomous behaviors/reactions.

There are some benefits with a fixed world view, especially from a conformist world view where we adopt and conform around beliefs such as religion and form societies. Easier to gather masses around joint causes if the reasons are absolute and unquestionably right/true.

From a modern world perspective, fixed world views in the rapidly changing world is very limiting and change is hard and painful, more painful that it needs to be. 

You are per definition blind to your own dogma.

To be able to deconstruct your ego and become increasingly aware of when/where you are exhibiting dogma, you will have to have accepted not knowing and accepting external indicators pointing towards where you are stuck, and where you need to detach from current beliefs.

Cognitive development happens unconsciously until a point where development becomes conscious and self-serving, and it gets easier to detach from beliefs, and easier spot when exhibiting dogmatic behaviors.

Until then, such feedback is seen as bad/negative experiences and our defense systems shut ourselves down to being able to accept that our beliefs inevitably are all false, incorrect or incomplete. 

Ego protecting itself. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Eph75

[Gianna]

I equate dogma with closed-mindedness. But of course, it is much more than that. Dogma is a rigorous set of guidelines that– to whoever follows them– is deemed indisputable. Something that is dogmatic will not go outside of these predetermined boundaries/principles/guidelines. It does not consider opposing facts or values. It's basically confirmation bias. Obviously, this is extremely limiting– it prevents growth and expansion. 

Edited July 11, 2021 by Gianna

[RickyFitts]

Interesting questions to consider. Seems to me that dogma can potentially help a person to cope with life, but if you're interested in truth, you have to throw it all out the window. Because if you want truth, your mind has to be open and flexible, whereas belief systems tend to make the mind closed and rigid.

[RobertZ]

A dogma is a formulary. People use these formal patterns of words to practice habits of making decisions about various thoughts (often thoughts about different kinds of relationships).  

People also use dogmas to ritually share habits of thought within one another. People invoke such beliefs as intentional habits of the intellect.

 

The concept of “prudence” is an analogy for the use of dogma. A person forms a habit of prudence by deliberately and consistently thinking how to live a fulfilled life. Similarity, a person believes in a dogma by habitually deciding in favour of a particular thought (and it’s implications) with various levels of openness or assistance. 

 

One kinds of dogma is a kerigma. I would suggest that a kerigma is a statement that functions like a broken object—whose parts fit together as verification (for example, a kerigma may contain the core essence of a religion in a few words). 

Edited July 11, 2021 by RobertZ