DOGMATIZE: The dark side of PROVE. The more intricate and robust our mental systems, the more easily we slip into an increasingly narrow perspective on what’s real and true. We can lose sight of down-to-earth, practical ideas by zooming in too much and attempting to decode every last detail, or by trying to force our facts to fit into a neat, logical, and cohesive whole like puzzle pieces.
These tendencies scratch our itch for increasingly precise, rational systems, but are like playing intellectual Jenga where replacing any piece risks collapsing our tower of reason. It’s a trap systematic theology and theoretical science alike fall into.
Dogma emerges when we spend more intellectual energy defending our ideas, data, or methods than practically using them in the world.