Thursday, May 9, 2013
"I Don't Know": Words to Live By
Recently, I opened my Inbox and found this article, which had been emailed to myself and some of my colleagues by a student in our Upper School. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, the article itself or the fact that a student was interested in sharing it with us. One of the great perks of life as a teacher is that you are constantly having your eyes opened to new perspectives by the very people you are there to teach.
I love the theme of this piece, that openness to our own uncertainty is actually the only real path to knowledge. As Shakespeare wrote, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Humility and honesty in the face of the astoundingly complex issues and ideas all around us changes one's focus from frustration at the inability to master all topics to excitement at the intellectual adventures that stretch before us. We should all be wise enough to know just how foolish we are!
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/the-power-of-i-dont-know/
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At college the professor I respected most was Professor Picard. He was the only professor who ever answered a question in class "I don't know".
ReplyDeleteBertrand Russell said "I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
Consider Smullyan's Semi-Paradox. I hold thousands of beliefs about the universe. One of them is that I am imperfect. Therefore some of my beliefs are false. Therefore there exists a proposition that I simultaneously believe adn don't believe.
Finally, I believe that Friends School has nourished a healthy skepticism in my children, rather than blind acceptance of dogma, and I appreciate that!
Thanks, Mark. Healthy skepticism strikes me as among the most important tools our students can carry with them from their time with us!
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