Authoritarians lack practice in independent critical reasoning

Evidence

Compared with others, authoritarians have not spent much time examining evidence, thinking critically, reaching independent conclusions, and seeing whether their conclusions mesh with the other things they believe. Instead, they have largely accepted what they were told by the authorities in their lives, which leaves them with time for other things, but which also leaves them underpracticed in thinking for themselves. We shall see how this deficiency puts authoritarians themselves at risk, as well as the society in which High RWAs properly have as much right as anyone else to say what our policies should be, and who shall lead us. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1192

Categorization

• QUESTION: The claim that underpracticed thinking puts authoritarians at risk - at personal risk how? Framing device for the chapter’s evidence on cognitive deficiencies.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1192
• XREF: connects to: Avoiding authoritarianism without directives can become neglectful laissez-faire teaching — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 736; Right-wing attacks make critical self-examination nearly impossible for academic radicals — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 268; Competitive essentialism emerges only under coercive authoritarian pedagogy — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 171