Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Just a thought …


Fervent rationalists notwithstanding, there are other ways of getting at the truth besides reason. The reason the skilled craftsman knows how to do what needs to be done is that he is a virtuoso of tools. A wood-carver is an aficionado of chisels, keen to the nuance of their differences.  He also knows the limits of his art, for it is there that he must do his best work. Above all, he knows where it belongs and never let's it intrude elsewhere. 
Science has taught us much about the mechanics of reality. But there is much more to reality than the mechanics of it. A thorough knowledge of the biochemistry of the carrot will not you make you a better cook, or even a good one. A cook approaches a carrot from a different direction on the way to another destination. 
We are blessed with a variety of tools for use in apprehending truth. The trick is to make the best use of them in consort — the proper tools at their proper tasks. Perhaps we should think of ourselves not as machines, but as instruments.
Something added. Post bumped. 

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