Ideology is comfortable. It requires no intellectual work, no challenge of deeply held beliefs, and no courageous questioning of the status quo.

If we are not willing to integrate new evidence and think openly about ideas, we are unlikely to move closer to the truth.

Good ideas are built upon an integration of sound evidence with a variety of perspectives. Without a willingness to adjust to new environments (and new evidence), our ideas lose their integrity.

We must not be so rigid in our beliefs that we are unwilling to change.

Moving beyond ideology requires that we are wary of proclaiming that we have the ultimate ‘Truth,’ for such a proclamation can be deceiving to ourselves and others. As Nietzsche states, ‘Truth’ can be more fateful than ignorance, for it can block the pursuit of and knowledge.

It's not that there is no objective truth, but rather that there is a tendency for many to be unwilling to change their ideas through the rationalization they have the ultimate 'Truth,' and nothing less.

This rationalization of the ultimate 'Truth' is useful for the entrenchment of old and decaying belief systems, which taken to the macro-scale can lead to the downfall of civilizations.

We should always pursue knowledge and truth, but be wary of our own potential rigidity.

To break free from ideological rigidity and intellectual atrophy, we must expose our ideas to contrarian perspectives. We must be willing to update and improve our knowledge, our beliefs, and our values through exposure to opposing ideas and philosophies.

Such a practice is terrifying, as it can reveal entire gaps in our knowledge, in our beliefs, and even in our value systems.

But without such a practice of exposure, we can never hope to grow and mature--we can never hope to become a skeptic.

When we become our own greatest skeptic, we do not just provide a guard against individual ideology within ourselves, but we also become one more courageous force against the appeal of collective tyranny.