Does indoctrination necessarily imply falsehood and dogmatism, or is it a more complex phenomenon that reaches into the very foundations of our understanding of responsibility, autonomy, and critical thinking? These questions were addressed by Veljko Košević, Junior Research Assistant at the Center for Philosophy, in his lecture entitled “Indoctrination as a Challenge to Moral and Epistemological Responsibility.”
The lecture was devoted to the relationship between indoctrination and moral responsibility, with particular emphasis on reasoning in educational and broader social contexts. The starting point of the presentation was the thesis that indoctrination should not be understood solely as a didactic problem, but rather as an epistemic and ethical challenge.
At the center of the discussion was the question of what we actually mean by indoctrination. Are indoctrinated beliefs necessarily false, insensitive to evidence, dogmatic, and characteristic of a “closed mind”? If so, why is that a problem, and what exactly does it mean to be ideologically biased or insensitive to evidence? The lecture also raised the question of whether some form of indoctrination might be unavoidable, or even epistemically desirable, in the process of belief formation.
Special attention was devoted to the analysis of persuasive definitions, drawing on C. L. Stevenson’s work “Persuasive Definitions.” It was pointed out that indoctrination is not carried out exclusively through the presentation of false claims, but also through the subtle redefinition of value-laden concepts. In such processes, the descriptive meaning of a term is altered, while its emotive connotation is retained in order to shape specific beliefs and attitudes.
The lecture further examined the structural mechanisms through which beliefs are adopted and maintained without encouraging critical scrutiny. It was emphasized that indoctrination is not limited to ideological, religious, or political beliefs, but may encompass any conception that a person can hold. In this sense, it represents a broader social phenomenon that concerns the ways in which individuals form, justify, and defend their beliefs.
Attention was also given to the importance of critically examining the role of education, language, and social structures in shaping belief, leading to the question of the extent to which we are truly responsible for our own views if they are formed under conditions that do not foster free and critical reasoning.
In the concluding part of the lecture, it was considered whether indoctrination can be regarded as epistemically justified in cases where it leads to the formation of true beliefs. Although at first glance the truth of the outcome might seem to mitigate the problem, it was argued that indoctrination remains problematic because it undermines individual autonomy and responsibility for what one believes.
The lecture was organized as part of a series introducing newly appointed colleagues at the ISS.