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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Dr. Mortimer J. Adler's
Six Great Ideas
| There is a form of skepticism, of doubt, a hesitancy to rush to judgment, to pronounce ‘truth,’ that all thoughtful, educated persons will, at all times, underwrite. There are two extremes: excessive skepticism and excessive dogmatism. |
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Editor's note:
Excerpts from Six Great Ideas are offered below, indented format; plus, at times, my own commentary.
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The "more mitigated" or moderate skepticism that Hume rec-
ommended as "both durable and useful," he also thought re-
sults from the correction of extreme skepticism by common
sense and by reflection. It consists in an ever-present tincture
or tinge of doubt that should accompany all—or, if not all, most
—of the judgments we make concerning what is true or false.
believing nothing versus believing everything
It should arise from our acknowledgment of the infirmities—and
the consequent fallibility—of the human mind. It holds a mid-
dle ground between what Hume calls excessive skepticism at
one extreme and excessive dogmatism at the other, a dogma¬
tism that claims certitude and infallibility about matters in
which neither is attainable.
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Editor's last word:
At mid-life, I well recall my climbing out of the pit of the cultism of my youth. It is frightening to let go of the familiar guardrails, but it is also exhilarating, in that, one is finally living the courageous life, following truth wherever it may lead. During this time, from better teachers than I’d known, it was advised, “Hold the truth – that little we might apprehend – hold it loosely in your hands, because there’s a big universe of knowledge out there, and there will always be more data coming in.” This doesn’t mean that we can’t acknowledge a modicum of certainty in our philosophical lives, but, when we do, just realize that what we know, or think we know today, will, at least somewhat, be modified in the future as we learn more. Hold your “truth” loosely in your hands, pending the receipt of more light. And there will always be more light coming. This is the grand way to live. This is the enlargement of spirit that all enlightened persons enjoy; now, and a million years from now.
What we know, or think we know, is but one grain of sand on an endless beach of ignorance; therefore, whatever is believed to be known must be held lightly, pending, and anticipating, further data. It shall always be so.
Dr. John Wheeler: "We live on an island of knowledge surrounded by an ocean of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.... At the heart of everything is a question, not an answer."
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