Think For Yourself

reply to post by sulaw


Sorry for the late reply. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I do have a life.

Just to go a step furter. Where did your OP come from? Was it an Original thought? Or did you derive that post from knowledge aquired?

Thanks for the questions. It got me thinking.

Allow me to ramble in pretentious fashion...

The OP came from me. I wrote the words under my guidance, with my desires and in my language. I spent time pondering it, comparing it to matters of experience, and followed the trains of logic wherever it was required. I conceived of an audience, considered the rhetoric needed to reach them, and wrote for them. Hence, we must say it came from my thinking.

But, as you were correct to point out, I can see fragments of others in my writing. I recognize every influence in my words, from my favourite authors to my favourite thinkers, my education, my family and whoever I hold dear and respect. Although I feel I write from myself, I am a novice, and perhaps prone to influence from greater writers, some even on this board. "Influence" is another word for mastery, supremacy, power. Your words influenced me, forced me to follow another train of thought. The power of rhetoric. I think that it is safe to say that a varying amount of influence of culture speaks through each of us. Hence, we can also say the OP came from the thinking of others.

However, this isn’t entirely true. No matter what impression we receive from the thoughts of others, we are sovereign over them from the moment we sense them; they are in our territory now. I think we can agree that this is when our own thinking comes into play. This is where we should be disobedient rather than obedient. A wolf not a sheep. We should be entirely critical, and treat the ideas of others as we would a parasite. There's nothing wrong with doing so.

Being critical is what the great minds have done. They've always gone against the flow of their age, thought for themselves, and the result is the most beautiful art. Their thoughts become original, they generate insights rather than regurgitate them, and the way they express it advances the species and moves minds forward. Are we not capable of the same?

We should realize that everything expressed in language is interpretation of fact, not fact itself. If anyone is capable of interpreting the world, we should enjoy this freedom. Here in our impression and expression, no one is an authority over another unless he submits rather than defends. It becomes a question of creativity. Like the great prophets, the great philosophers, the great artists, one should always create and become his own ideal rather than the ideal of someone else.

And now I'm preaching—what amounts to a confession of fears. We at least understand the need to express our interpretations; it opens up more questions, leads us closer to whatever we are searching for, whatever we are building.

Imagining an entire race of free-thinkers in a species that displays the characteristics of a herd is inconceivable; but maybe it isn’t a complete loss, because although truth and knowledge is merely interpretation and metaphor, the methods through which they are reached and expressed are available to everyone. That's the best part about it.

In my opinion.

reply to post by frazzle

First of all, what would we think about without any input from others?

Accepting input without straining it through a very fine sieve of skepticism is where the trouble begins. Wheat from chaff.

So when the pundits are all saying "he bad', I try to use search engines to virtually travel to the places in question, to watch and listen to the people in their own milieu and get a feel for the sincerity of their words. THEN its time to think for myself.

jmo.

I agree.

I wasn't implying that googling something or quoting another is evil, only that it is lazy. All humans are lazy. We should embrace this fact. We seek convenience. I am only being honest when I point this out.

When it comes to matter of objective fact, the data and observations are available—Google away—but every now and then interpretation gets thrown in the mix. This is where we should always be skeptical. Their motives, aims, desires and contextual viewpoint always differ than ours, and always sway their interpretation.

Is it perhaps dangerous to be lazy in places that may affect us in the long run? Should we easily hand over the deeds to our mind without some sort of struggle? Maybe once and a while we should try to figure things out, try to express them in our own words, at least for the sake of health. We don't ever stop learning after all.

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by frazzle

 

First of all, what would we think about without any input from others?

Accepting input without straining it through a very fine sieve of skepticism is where the trouble begins. Wheat from chaff.

So when the pundits are all saying "he bad', I try to use search engines to virtually travel to the places in question, to watch and listen to the people in their own milieu and get a feel for the sincerity of their words. THEN its time to think for myself.

jmo.

I agree.

I wasn't implying that googling something or quoting another is evil, only that it is lazy. All humans are lazy. We should embrace this fact. We seek convenience. I am only being honest when I point this out.

When it comes to matter of objective fact, the data and observations are available—Google away—but every now and then interpretation gets thrown in the mix. This is where we should always be skeptical. Their motives, aims, desires and contextual viewpoint always differ than ours, and always sway their interpretation.

Is it perhaps dangerous to be lazy in places that may affect us in the long run? Should we easily hand over the deeds to our mind without some sort of struggle? Maybe once and a while we should try to figure things out, try to express them in our own words, at least for the sake of health. We don't ever stop learning after all.

When attaching a link it is to give further reading or hearing - is it not lazy not to click the link and listen and hear a slightly different angle pointing to the same thing? Is it lazy to have the insight and the knowledge of where the link is and know how it enhances the message and then seek the link and then share for nothing in return.

I use a book drum now. It means I can get the gist of most books I read. You can absorb the essence of a book within a fraction of the time it would take to read it.

reply to post by Itisnowagain

When attaching a link it is to give further reading or hearing - is it not lazy not to click the link and listen and hear a slightly different angle pointing to the same thing? Is it lazy to have the insight and the knowledge of where the link is and know how it enhances the message and then seek the link and then share for nothing in return.

If I tell you to read a book would you read it? If someone gives you a pamphlet selling something do you read it? Would it enhance my message if I handed you the words of someone else?

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
Would it enhance my message if I handed you the words of someone else?

The same thing said differently can help with understanding.

Is it lazy to share?

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
If someone gives you a pamphlet selling something do you read it?

Yes - why not? I wouldn't just buy the product without reading about it.

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
If I tell you to read a book would you read it?

If you had whet my whistle - and I was interested - I might.

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


So when one learns to think for themselves, how is it possible to have social connections without getting everyone on board with this new "concept" of thinking. I have personally tried and found honesty to be like a poison to those around me. Do not get me wrong its kind of fun being my true expression but it gets tiresome having to tip toe around the tulips when it comes to expression. I f expression is art then i am only limited to my surroundings and what is deemed acceptable without interference.

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


Very cool, and very good essay. Awesome quote, as well. I think you are capturing the essence of thinking for yourself - this is something that is, in fact, going away with the new technology - as well as some of the new politics, that try to chip away at this.

I think you are talking about the Yang side. Let us take the example of a sawmill, or a water wheel that produces electricity. In the past, people who designed this water wheel or sawmill had the blueprints for it in their mind, and would also be able to modify those blueprints as needed because they would understand the mechanisms.

The question is, what happens when all of this Yang energy is counted, processed and stored, ready to be accessed without having to access the Yang realm, which takes away from awareness of the physical realm?

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


/applaud's!!!

The very well articulated response was well worth the wait! I whole heartedly agree. I'm glad I provoked some thought as well I am very receptive to the OP as well the thought provoking discussion we had. Thank you for that! I appreciated every word!

I have seen many wolves on this site and that makes me very happy! Even though some wolves need to travel alone it's when they come together as such on these boards and provoke each others thoughts to strengthen one on the lonely journey (at times) and once again seperate with new attained knowledge to help oneself on that journey.

Thank you again Les /tips, tin foil hat~