Now a wise man might ask, “What is the truth?”
Underlying we ask, what IS truth?
How can we know, or how can we make sense,
Can knowledge be found by experience?
Is it essential to trust without fact?
Or, can we choose reason to be our guide?
Is it blind faith from which we always act,
Or is there room for our rational side?
What besides life; is there anything more?
What will come after, and what came before?
Is there some power besides what we see,
Of is this all we’ve got, all that will be?
Truth-seeking questions, eating like cancers,
Without the questions there’d be no answers.
Why faith? If we are to live our life with purpose, then there has to be trust or faith in something. We must believe that there are some things that we can know. We cannot go through life believing that two plus two does not equal four. Therefore, in various degrees and various ways, we all place our faith in something. What then should we place our faith in? Reason, science, God, Man, Woman, Sex?
Two Blind Old Men
There were once two old widowers, named Belief and Logic, who lived in the same town. Years before, they had both gone blind. And over time, many of their friends would not take the time to visit them any longer as their blindness was burdensome. These men, through loneliness, found themselves spending more and more time with each other. They would sit in a park nearby their mutual homes. But aside from the seeming physical inactivity of their bodies, one would be astounded by their vigor. They would constantly bicker over any issue that was discussed. Their favorite topic of debate was that of the neighborhood dog. One day, they were sitting as usual on their well-worn park bench when a dog came up to the bench where they were sitting. The first man patted the dogs head and the second man could only grasp the poor dog’s wagging tail. After their initial interaction with the dog, Belief boldly told Logic, “What a nice Collie that was.” Logic decisively responded, “No, it was a St. Bernard. I could tell because the tail was thick and hairy.” They spent hours debating the breed of dog. Each tried to convince the other. Neither would budge from their position. So they went home with no resolution. Over the next few days, they expectantly waited for the dog to return. But they were to receive no satisfaction. Over time their discussions returned to the usual topics, and that was when the dog returned. This time, however, the dog came Logic, who gave his ears a nice scratch. Belief was only able to hear the panting of the dog. Logic desired to prove Belief wrong. So he stated, “This is certainly not a Collie, because his ears do not stick up.” Belief, jealous that he was unable to touch the dog, lied, “I felt his ears too, and they are pointy. You must have not felt them right.” Again, the two men could not come to an agreement. And again, the dog did not return for many days. The next month the dog finally appeared. This time the dog came toward them, but as the dog neared their bench, his attention was consumed by the mockingbird pecking at seed on the ground. Immediately, the dog barked and ran at the bird, chasing it until he was out of the park. This time, Belief wanted to prove Logic wrong. He smirked, “A St Bernard has a much deeper bark than that.” Logic admitted, “It must not have been a St Bernard, but it does have a thick tail, which means it must be an Australian Sheep Dog.” These conversations continued. On occasion the dog make a short visit to the park bench, and each time, the two old men would argue about what kind of dog it was. In their stubbornness, neither would give satisfaction to the other by admitting that he himself was actually sure about the breed. So they remained ignorant. Finally, after months of arguments, a child was walking by as the dog came up to the old men. They immediately began to give their arguments for what kind of dog it was. They began yelling and cursing at each other. Each believing the other was wrong. Hearing their rantings, the child softly said, “It’s a Golden Retriever.”
Questions
The Greek philosopher Socrates was known for his lucid, piercing questions. We call his method of questioning dialectics. His journey to seek knowledge began when the Oracle at Delphi, a mystic Greek prophet who allegedly had special insight into life, said that the wisest man on earth was Socrates. Socrates felt that there had to be others that were wiser. So he went around Greece talking with the most respected thinkers he could find. He asked lots of questions, and he found that no one could give sufficient answers. Most likely, this was because the perfect human answer does not exist. As humans, we are limited and can only find limited answers. On the other hand, we are also capable of coming to a working knowledge of our world. Through his questioning, Socrates caused many others to question the excepted norms of the day. This aroused hatred from many of those who proclaimed to know particular truths. Finally, he upset enough people, that he was put on trial. The events of this trial are recorded in Plato’s Apology, where we derive the word apologetics—or defense. In this trial, Socrates claimed that the oracle at Delphi was wrong; he was not the wisest man alive. But he continued that if he was wiser than anyone else, it was because he knew that he did not know anything. By acknowledging that he knew nothing, Socrates did, in fact, determine that he knew something. He had found at least one thing to be true. If we go through life without questioning anything, we never come to any truth.
Of whom can we ask questions? Ourselves? Others?
Was Socrates right? Is there no truth that we can truly know?
Without questions, there would be no answers! Questions are powerful. So bring them on. Here’s my first question for you. What can we know?