Alan, I would argue that to close your mind to negatives is to close yourself off to positives, too.
In the case you just gave, yes, the search for truth and knowledge has led to conflict, war, etc. Does that mean we should give up entirely, and make decisions based on what we want to avoid, rather than what we want to achieve? For me, that's the comfortable and easy option, but not the courageous one. By constantly challenging our own beliefs, we're able to move forward.
To me it's similar to introversion. It's often borne out of fear of the new, a fear of rejection, and a fear of upsetting others. Extroverts take risks, they might get blown off or shot down, and their opinions might upset others from time to time. But in return they gain connections that would otherwise not be possible.
If you ignore the downsides of people and simply pander to their comforts, they'll never learn anything and they'll never grow. If you outright reject people, they'll be discouraged and stifled and they'll never grow. The trick is to find a happy medium between the two. Polarization is good in theory, but I find it never works in practice.
What if, like I said above, a friend of yours decided he wanted to commit a murder? This puts you in a rather awkward position if you wish not to judge people, since from the non-judgemental perspective, nobody is wrong, he's just doing his own thing.
I honestly believe the way forward is for people to listen and honestly hear the criticism, and learn not to get angry with it. It's the difficult path and the one which requires a bit of courage -- but ultimately it's the one which will provide the most growth.
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