Let's talk about bias!!!

[Quick]

How does society as a whole tend towards biased thinking or not?

Strongly,  most of which will be implicit.  Which is to say that they are unconscious and automatic.  The classic example is an egalitarian male who..nevertheless, associates females with domestic life and on account of this trusts his female coworkers input less.  

How do you recognise bias in you own life? How does one ride themselves of bias? Is it an exercise of will or simply something you learn (free will vs determinism)?

Well, for cognitive biases, we have a system.  For implicit biases.....we've got next to nothing.  This is part of why females couldn;t vote until 1920.   

Is bias a myth? If it is, what is our (your) role in coming to grips with being wrong (or at least incorrect) or not? Can one justify never being wrong from a theoretical standpoint? 

No.  

What would be required to believe (heh) that one does not have any biases?

Cognitive bias, lol.

Is it easier for you to separate seeing bias in others or yourself more?

Cognitive, about the same regardless..implicit is easier to spot in others (and be informed about by others).  Outsider test.  

How does our perception tie into our biases? 

Our biases -are- perceptions.  

Are our tools to measure the universe fallible due to bias? Why or why not?

All tools are fallible, bias or no bias..but here you'd be referring to cognitive biases.   We have self correcting systems for reducing their presence and effect.  I think they're sufficient. I;m confident in the knowledge that the sun rises in the east..and also that the systems we use to make that declaration would correct the proposition if we found out otherwise. It; seems to be as free of bias as a proposition can be.

Good answers.

I view bias as an inescapable human condition.

Can you say more?

[Astreja]

I think bias is inevitable, largely because a great deal of it is unconscious. Only when we bring it into awareness can we do something about it.

[Quick]

I think bias is inevitable, largely because a great deal of it is unconscious. Only when we bring it into awareness can we do something about it.

Could you answer what the process/method to bring bias into awareness looks like?

[drfuzzy]

I think most bias is ingrained in childhood, by parents, culture, and environment.
Some of it gets (thankfully) undone by experience and education.  For example, my parents were pretty racist.  
I have worked, and worked - to erase that from my programming.  I have discussed some of it at length with black friends. 
(Some preferred the term "black", some "African American" -- I'm always up for correction.)  I hope some day the term will just be "American" regardless of race.
I was out walking a few months ago and three young black males were approaching - I had a moment of nervousness.
I kicked myself for it, and said "hi" as we passed -- I hate that this piece is still ingrained, even after so many decades.

We're still a very tribal species.  We want to point to those outside of our little group as "other".  We need to outgrow this.

[Angrboda]

I addressed this topic in part in an earlier thread:

Does the head follow the heart in matters of truth?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Once, at age fourteen, I declined to wrestle a medium-sized badger.  Clearly, I had a bias against having my face ripped to shreds. 

Depending on circumstances, bias can be a good thing. 

Boru

[*Deidre*]

We are all at least a bit biased, because bias feels comfortable. Even if it’s wrong. I try to be unbiased as much as I can, but I probably show bias at times.

[Astreja]

I think bias is inevitable, largely because a great deal of it is unconscious.  Only when we bring it into awareness can we do something about it.

Could you answer what the process/method to bring bias into awareness looks like?

Largely techniques from psychology, along with mindfulness.  (Personally I think that one major clue is one's emotional reaction to a given situation, such as getting upset about something that isn't fazing another person.)

[Brian37]

So what are your thoughts on bias?

Some things to consider...

How does society as a whole tend towards biased thinking or not?

How do you recognise bias in you own life? How does one ride themselves of bias? Is it an exercise of will or simply something you learn (free will vs determinism)?

Is bias a myth? If it is, what is our (your) role in coming to grips with being wrong (or at least incorrect) or not? Can one justify never being wrong from a theoretical standpoint? 

What would be required to believe (heh) that one does not have any biases?

Is it easier for you to separate seeing bias in others or yourself more?

How does our perception tie into our biases? 

Are our tools to measure the universe fallible due to bias? Why or why not?

Yes, bias exists, even among the top scientist. But, currently our best method to to date to filter out bias is scientific method.

Humans evolved to socialize and most of the time we adapt to the social norms we are raised with. That bias can be overcome to see a bigger global long term picture, sure, but for most humans it is far harder to step outside that circle.

[Quick]

Could you answer what the process/method to bring bias into awareness looks like?

Largely techniques from psychology, along with mindfulness.  (Personally I think that one major clue is one's emotional reaction to a given situation, such as getting upset about something that isn't fazing another person.)

C/DBT is very good for that sort of thing. I am actually pretty curious what the Jungian interpretation of this would be. Probably something along the lines of The Greater Personality. But that is some pretty heavy shit that I don't know a whole lot about.