I dislike Nathaniel Hawthorne. Had I lived during his day, he probably not only would have not seen past my Asian skin, but he would have probably also set me out to scrub his floors. Moreover, I think he hits a person over the head with the theme of a community not being able to see past a scarlet letter or not being able to see the mark of a Reverend that they consider holy.
That having been said, I think Galileo probably would have empathized with Hester Prynne. Being surrounded by people unable to hear the truth is a difficult situation to encounter.
So many obstacles face those who actually want to get to it. Complex ideas, strong opinions, psychological barriers, investments in a having people adhere to certain beliefs all mar the route to the truth. Sometimes there is no right or wrong, but other times, under all that ideological discussion or psychological denial, there is a more approximate right has little chance to emerge.
Nobel Physicist Max Planck once wrote "An important scientific innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents... What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out and that the growing generation is familiarized with the idea from the beginning" (The Philosophy of Physics, 1936).
A history of political thought professor once said that in today's education system, we learn to debate fiercely. Everyone who comes to university knows how to argue. The difficulty is getting people to understand arguments that philosophers are making. We can argue until we're blue about whether Machiavelli was correct to say that a ruler should be cunning and fierce, except that the argument would be for naught, because contrary to popular belief, that is not what Machiavelli spent his life saying.
In today's rapidly changing world, I believe it even more important to listen, but people keep obstructing the words others are saying.
No comments:
Post a Comment