Is it Better to be Aware of Your Bias or Unaware of it?
I saw this headline and shook my head thinking, "how can this judge see this issue in this way and rule as he did?" I answered myself with the fact that people are products of their time and culture and upbringing and experiences and education and their biases.
But if someone KNOWS they have a bias do they try to compensate for it or not?
Then I thought of how bothersome it must be to be self aware in that position.
But would we want a judge who wasn't somewhat introspective?
How come porn rulings were generally different in times past? The answer to that one is the judge is a product of his environment. But what if he lives in a crappy environment? Shouldn't he compensate for that?
This is NOT a thread about the TOPIC of law or politics but the thinking or non thinking behind decisions made these days and the ethics and machinery of decision making.
So, is it better to be aware or unaware of your bias?
If you are aware of it you can work on changing it or controlling it's negative effects, but it's a pain in the ass to do.
If you are UNaware of your bias you can live life in bliss and not know how you are hurting others or how your biases might hurt you but the unexamined life, as some wise man once said, is not worth living.
Vote.
Is it better to be aware or unaware of your bias?
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