Learn from the mistakes of others

beliefs drive people far more than rational thought.

the enlightenment may have ushered in a whole new way of thinking - but that's just the point. thinking as such wasn't new - but the emphasis on a certain kind of thinking was (at least, a renewed emphasis on it).

rationality is/was prized by this movement in the west;
but
people are not rational by rature, they have to be taught to be rational.

this has a number of consequences:

if have to be taught;
then education is important.

if we want people to be able to think rationally;
then we must provide education that achieves that goal;*
then education must be available to all;#
and it must be of high quality for all;%
and it must assess 'processeds' and 'outcomes' that ensure students are learning to think rationally;@
but it must also ensure that it is not mere indoctrination;^
or it will simply (re)establish totalitarianism.

and
if we want people to think rationally, we must provide incentives for them to do so.

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* not hopes to, or manages for some, but does for as many as can - with means taken to ensure every opportunity is available for those having difficulties are assisted.

# really available for all, not just kinda available for the poor, and really laid on for the rich.

% education is not a commodity, it is not consumed - it is the means by which humans acquire survival skills.

@ the system, as well as the delivery, and the actual learning must be designed and executed with all this in mind.

^ rational thinking is a process, not an outcome. even the ancient greeks knew that. it is about how you think. what you think about, and the conclusions you draw, are not predetermined - thought they may be cisrcumscribed through the process.