Scepticism
[date written: 2006-04-27]
I have noticed a fault in myself in recent years; a growing scepticism. I am simply not as willing to accept what others now say, especially when it does not correlate with what I believe. I am worried that this will lead me to become obstinate, which in turn will lead me to hold less holistic views of the world. I understand the causes of this problem, they are egotism and arrogance (I will address the ego in detail in a later post).
My belief that my philosophical perceptions are beyond those held by contemporary humanity has led me to believe that I am beyond contemporary humans. I recognize this fault, I admit to this fault and I am trying to rectify this fault. It seems almost ironic that I can believe that I am beyond others, when I am incapable of fixing such a small problem. I must learn humility, and if I cannot learn it, I must be taught it.
I have noticed a fault in myself in recent years; a growing scepticism. I am simply not as willing to accept what others now say, especially when it does not correlate with what I believe. I am worried that this will lead me to become obstinate, which in turn will lead me to hold less holistic views of the world. I understand the causes of this problem, they are egotism and arrogance (I will address the ego in detail in a later post).
My belief that my philosophical perceptions are beyond those held by contemporary humanity has led me to believe that I am beyond contemporary humans. I recognize this fault, I admit to this fault and I am trying to rectify this fault. It seems almost ironic that I can believe that I am beyond others, when I am incapable of fixing such a small problem. I must learn humility, and if I cannot learn it, I must be taught it.
2 comments:
Most people as they age seem to become more set in their ways. It's not neccessary to change what you believe so long as you accept others and their beliefs. I'm of the opinion that any belief is fine, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else or prevent them from having their own beliefs.
By the way, you are not special. The things that you think and feel have probably been thought and felt by countless others before you, and will be by more after you. And you would never know because they didn't write it down, or never met you to tell you.
You are one among many and you are flawed just like the rest of us. Maybe you think more about philosophy than some others. But then, maybe others are more generous, or more caring, or more active, or better cooks. We each only have a certain amount of time in every day and we choose to give it to different things. What you give your time to doesn't make you better than anyone else. Appreciate them for what they are, and appreciate yourself too.
Anyway, that's my take - feel free to utterly ignore it.
Here we disagree fundamentally. I perceive that beliefs retard our potential, and should be proved or discarded where possible. Beliefs may be a useful mechanism for simplifying our lives, but they should not be relied upon. Perceptions, on the other hand, are a consequence of observation and must change when evidence contradicts them. Failure to change one's perceptions to correlate with observation invalidates them as belief and makes the observer delusional.
Solipsism implies the unequivocal specialness of the ego; and solipsism seems perceivably true. Are you special or have you overcome this too?
I am not special, nothing is. I do not claim to be the first to perceive what I do, but neither do I rest on my laurels. Being first is inconsequential; enlightenment is a goal, not a race. I intend to spend my time as a trailblazer and disseminate my attained wisdom to humanity. Can this be said of those that philosophically sojourned here before me?
I do not pretend that I am more generous, caring or accomplished at cooking than others. And I understand that if nihilism is true, all of our activities - be they cooking or questing for enlightenment - are equally pointless. When one considers, though, that cooking pertains only to this manifested level of existence, and enlightenment concerns the transcendence of all, I know which I would prefer to devote my time to.
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