We don’t need another devil’s advocate offering “the other side.” What we need are more people looking for the good we can do together.
The Devil’s Advocate
In the 16th Century, the Vatican established a position called advocatus diaboli, the devil’s advocate. The job would be to advocate on the devil’s behalf.
Wait. Why would they do that? That seems like a really terrible idea.
The office actually played a specific role in the church. They didn’t want the beatification of saints to be a rubber stamp. They hoped this person would help them avoid groupthink.
But we all know that anyone can be the devil’s advocate. You just need to find a group which wants to make a decision. Then you can argue against it.
A Lone Voice
In theory, the devil’s advocate is just a lone voice telling the group, already convinced it is right, that perhaps they are not. Maybe this idea they love isn’t right for this moment. So then maybe we need to do something else.
In practice, however, the devil’s advocate is rarely so intellectually pure or consistent. Usually, she’s more like a thorn in the side of progress.
The intellectual purpose of the devil’s advocate is sound. It’s easy to imagine a situation in which one person can see something the rest are missing. She might be the lone bulwark to groupthink.
My experience with the devil’s advocates is rarely so noble. In part because we rarely have both consensus and momentum at the same time. But worse than that, I find that the devil’s advocate is really good at making friends. And this is why it can often be a bigger problem.
The devil shouldn’t be popular.
It seems the devil has a lot of advocates.
They are everywhere. Lots of people shooting down good ideas long before they gather consensus. Many are telling us how we’ve failed in the past. And just how many incredibly unlikely what-if scenarios do we need to be offered before the planning process even begins?
The purpose of the devil’s advocate is to test a thing late in the game when you’re starting to commit to actually making it happen. It is not to speak for “the other side” or to argue for the sake of arguing.
Most of what we pass off as devil’s advocacy is merely a request for empathy. Because we store this role in the same mental box we put the maxim to walk a mile in another person’s shoes. But that’s advocating for understanding another person or another way of living. The devil’s advocate does something else.
She is appointed to oppose the group. And she does not advocate for herself or her desires. That’s why it only takes one.
But there’s another reason I dislike having so many rogue advocates for evil.
The devil’s advocate is a quite literal phrase. You shouldn’t want to advocate on his behalf. This isn’t “the other side” you are advocating for–it is evil. In that regard, the devil clearly has enough advocates.
Chances are, you are in a group trying to do good in the world. Let someone else have the job of knocking the tires at the end of the process. Then they will swoop in and take a swing at all the hard work the group has done.
At this point, however, you have different work to do. Focus instead on advocating for someone else: potential saints. That’s the job that demands your wisdom, hope, and creativity. And chances are, that’s where your talents are needed now.
Then, at the end of the process, you can see if the devil still needs you. My guess is he’s got it covered.