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I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others.
-Socrates
In my previous post I talked about why truth is a good thing. Continuing that, questioning is also good. Because questioning is one of, and perhaps the single most important tool in finding the truth.
Not everything you believe is true. Not everything I believe is true. In order to discard our false beliefs, we must first find them. And the only way to do that is to question our beliefs.
Consider the modern fable of the five monkeys. The monkeys continued believing that it was a bad thing to try to get the bananas, even though conditions had changed. Just because something was true doesn't mean it still is.
This is why I so strongly support the freedom of speech and more generally the freedom of belief. The only way for the truth to prevail is for it to be critically examined.
I would like something clarified.
ReplyDeleteI think you have stated that your definition of good is something that produces more overall happiness than unhappiness. Therefore it seems that you are saying that questioning is good because it leads to truth, and truth is good because it leads to happiness.
Is this correct?
Yes, that's pretty much correct.
ReplyDelete