There are ways of correcting this behavior amicably.

The problem with most "educated" people nowadays is that they are rote-learners and rote-thinkers. That is, they memorize a collection of factoids and simple "If A then B" syllogistic rules, instead of being able to derive and reason about concepts. The tragic fact is that for the most part, they are completely unaware of the fact that they don't actually understand a subject.

It's like only knowing that if you push down the gas pedal, it will make the car go faster. And from that singular knowledge deluding yourself that you understand how engines work. A better and more encompassing analogy is Searl's Chinese Room, which involves a man getting messages in Chinese, following a complex set of rules depending on the characters received so that he himself can respond with an appropriate set of characters. All the while, the man doesn't actually understand a single word of Chinese and has no idea what the original message or his response to it actually mean.

So how can you remediate your daughter's behavior? Use the Socratic method. Have a genuine interest in her position and explore it with her, while asking her to explain or justify that position from an epistemological standpoint. That is, try to find out how is it that she knows what she knows. If she is stumped, can't answer, or gets angry (a common reaction when someone is put in that position), don't pressure her. Just let it go and be nice about it.

It should suffice that she gets confronted with the fact that she doesn't truly understand what she's talking about on a semi-regular basis. With time, the difference between rote-thinking (doxa) and actual understanding (episteme) should start to dawn on her.

There are ways of correcting this behavior amicably.

The problem with most "educated" people nowadays is that they are rote-learners and rote-thinkers. That is, they memorize a collection of factoids and simple "If A then B" syllogistic rules, instead of being able to derive and reason about concepts. The tragic fact is that for the most part, they are completely unaware of the fact that they don't actually understand a subject.

It's like only knowing that if you push down the gas pedal, it will make the car go faster. And from that singular knowledge deluding yourself that you understand how engines work. A better and more encompassing analogy is Searl's Chinese Room, which involves a man getting messages in Chinese, following a complex set of rules depending on the characters received so that he himself can respond with an appropriate set of characters as a response. All the while, the man doesn't actually understand a single word of Chinese and has no idea what the original message or his response to it actually mean.

So how can you remediate your daughter's behavior? Use the Socratic method. Have a genuine interest in her position and explore it with her, while asking her to explain or justify that position from an epistemological standpoint. That is, try to find out how is it that she knows what she knows. If she is stumped, can't answer, or gets angry (a common reaction when someone is put in that position), don't pressure her. Just let it go and be nice about it.

It should suffice that she gets confronted with the fact that she doesn't truly understand what she's talking about on a semi-regular basis. With time, the difference between rote-thinking (doxa) and actual understanding (episteme) should start to dawn on her.