What do you think?

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InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

That is absolutely correct. The human problem is that we are very informed but not educated.

I too believe that there is some truth in that statement, however i think that our problem lies in the fact that we accept too many thoughts without first thinking about them logically. We are bombarded by information and we have a tendency to just accept it as gospel truth. I think the quote implies that somewhere between absorbing the information and accepting it or not, there must be a step wherein we evaluate it in light of our own paradigm. Without this step we have neither education nor wisdom.

Especially in the so called age of information magnified by technology.

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Deutschland Das Nationalbewusstsein!

55th Stanza.
Wise in measure should each man be;
but let him not wax too wise;
seldom a heart will sing with joy
if the owner be all too wise.

Havamal~

Today we drink tomorrow we die.

Be weary of the machine so you don't become one yourself.

Its very close to what I would call an enlightened mind:

to be able to witness your thoughts without attachment to them.

-TC

The Buddhists say though that too much non- attachment leads to attachment in itself.

I always try to go for the median in everything.

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Deutschland Das Nationalbewusstsein!

55th Stanza.
Wise in measure should each man be;
but let him not wax too wise;
seldom a heart will sing with joy
if the owner be all too wise.

Havamal~

Today we drink tomorrow we die.

Be weary of the machine so you don't become one yourself.

I know what you mean by the Golden Mean. I think, though, that the warning is a step away for most people. In other words, non-attachment is a tool towards achieving a deeper sense of self. If we were speaking scientifically, its an attempt to isolate an experiment from its variables, in this case the Witness from thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sensations. Once this is accomplished (not an easy feat in itself) then one has to reintegrate the isolated varibles back into this new sense of Self, and this new sense of Self that understands it has thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sensations without being attached to them. In other words, understanding they are temporal and will pass against the great eternal backdrop of pure awareness which the Witness more closely identifies with.

-TC

I like Travis Clementsmith's quote:


The older I get, and the more I read, I find it quite easy to quickly accept what I already 'know', and to be more dismissive of something that challenges my more closely held assumptions. I try to fight that, but I need to remind myself more and more of that.

To help develop this 'detachment' I do try to seek out and read alternative views, and of course my close family doesn't give me free latitude with my opinions. The mountain peak this 'guru' sits on is a very pointy spot and quite uncomfortable when I find myself trying to settle myself there, and trying to expound to those close to me on the great issues of the day.

Quite simply, my wise wife and wise son and close, wise friends continue to help keep me humble! And I deserve to be after even slight reflection on so many of my knee jerk observations.

Nice thread. --Steve--

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That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 255)

In other words personal transformation.

I like your post.

__________________
Deutschland Das Nationalbewusstsein!

55th Stanza.
Wise in measure should each man be;
but let him not wax too wise;
seldom a heart will sing with joy
if the owner be all too wise.

Havamal~

Today we drink tomorrow we die.

Be weary of the machine so you don't become one yourself.

Going back to the original quote, I don't know if the word "educated" quite fits. But then, who am I to quibble with Aristotle over semantics.

An open mind, an enlightened mind, a flexible mind, a trained mind can entertain a thought without accepting it (as true)

"Educated", in what sense? Certainly in the sense of having been trained to be flexible and open.

Do you pose this question in order to discuss the nature of education in society, or to discuss the nature of mind, or the nature of thought?

Education as it is practiced in Canadian society today does not seem to stress even the ability to "entertain a thought".

I find that amongst the many of the "educated" people that I know, there are very few who have the discriminative ability or even motivation to entertain any philosophical thought, much less one with which they might not agree.

In fact, I know of one person, who dropped out of school before finishing grade 8, who definitely has the ability to "entertain a thought without accepting it". Is he educated? Not in the generally accepted sense. But he excercises his ability to be thoughtful and to examine an idea closely before he chooses to accept or reject its validity.

In these times it seems to be easier for most people to just go along with their own (or often someone else's) preconcieved notions without taking the time to evaluate them.

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Am I a woman dreaming that she is a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that it is a woman dreaming that she is a butterfly? (from a fable by ZHUANG ZHI)
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All the Best,

Devi Sarada