@Elmud,
Elmud wrote:My daughter is taking philosophy this semester in college. I told her that finally we have a common interest in something. However, I do not want to impose my beliefs about things on her. I want her to enjoy the freedom of her own thoughts about things without my influence. I do not want to throw any thought bombs in her path which could impede her on her own journey. I want her to have the chance to exercise her own mind and have the opportunity to develop her own individuality.
If there is an ultimate truth, what would be gained and what would be lost if that truth were revealed to humanity? What would become of our privilege to stretch our thoughts and exercise our mind? Would we lose our sense of wonder about things? If all of the answers of the wherefore and the why about things were given to us, where would we go from there? Would we lapse into a vegetative state of mind where there were no more challenges of thought?
I remember a famous line from a movie where Jack Nicholson said, "you can't handle the truth". I'm not sure I could and I really would not want to try.
The beauty of philosophy and religion is that mankind has the opportunity to work his imagination and hone his skills of thought .The body requires exercise to maintain its health. The mind of man requires exercise as well to insure a healthy state. Without mental activities which challenge our thought processes and push us to the limits of learning, I'm sure we would all develop dementia.
Is there an ultimate truth? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure I really care. The gift of not knowing anything is precious, and the evolution of thought can proceed unimpeded by reaching the summit too soon.
This is easy: truth is life; and ultimate truth is all life, especially human life....And Jack was right: Most people can't handle it, and are rather, badly handled by life...
Dementia is what all people begin with in the magic and mystery of childhood, and this includes religion; and philosophy is usually a way out of it...
Just tell your kid that no matter what she is talking about, it is a form of relationship...Forms are the way we handle reality, the truth... Yet, we also relate through our forms just as we are talking with the help of a form called language... Everything is a form, and it is through forms that humanity progresses... For this reason they are mentioned in the Declaration of Independence...
We can only change but little what we are, but we can change our forms when they no longer work for us... Life is the truth because our basic needs of life cannot change...Most people know when they are not getting enough from life, when they do not have enough food or shelter, or they cannot afford to have a child...You may be coming face to face with the price of education... I am uneducated. The price I would not pay on one end I paid on the other...For that I own a pile of books....But consider; that all these things are forms: books, education, food, shelter, children... What we are we cannot deny... Nor can we project ourselves beyond our own lives...
In a sense, all exists because we exist, and perhaps this is the one place in all of creation where life exists... We live, and we die, but humanity exists; and for that reason all our actions should serve humanity, and all life...We serve our forms... We should make sure our forms serve us too, and do not only rob our lives of meaning, and time...Because time is life.
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