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An elephant was brought to a group of blind men who had never
encountered such an animal before. One felt a leg and reported that an
elephant is a great living pillar. Another felt the trunk and reported
that an elephant is a great snake. Another felt a tusk and reported
that an elephant is like a sharp ploughshare. And so on. And then they
all quarreled together, each claiming that his own account was the
truth and therefore all the others false (traditional parable).
None of the accounts that the blind men made about the nature of
the elephant are absolute truths, nor are the accounts false. An
absolute truth, or one that is true for all, can not be achieved
because of the constant motion of circumstances of who said it, to
whom, when, where, why, and how it was said. Instead of absolute
truths, the concepts or beliefs that the blind men claim are viewpoints
that each one clarifies the nature of the elephant. Everybody has
learned to see things from his or her own sense of reason and logic.
The many things that people experience throughout their lifetimes, help
to determine the judgments toward the different issues and objects that
they encounter. Because individuals has his or her own sense of reason
and logic, the perceptions that people encounter are ultimately true,
and not false. Life does not contain one truth for any idea or object,
but truths can be found in one's perception. It is difficult to
determine that anything is the absolute truth. One should not prove
that any object contains a true meaning, but should develop conceptions
surrounding the object. Attempting to prove anything then would be
difficult, if not impossible.
Our senses from smell to values to
reality may differ from person to person. What may be true to one
person may be different for another. Because everybody has different
perceptions about life, it is difficult to weigh the content of any
concept. Every account, of its own, is formed to be the truth of the
one individual who assumes it. The variety of concepts may have the
virtue of being considered. This is how people develop a deeper sense
of understanding for all objects. Truth is achieved through the concept
and not the object itself. Because many individuals hold different
perceptions, they have many truths to consider, or not to consider. For
example, it would be impossible to determine, whether or not, the
cutting of trees is either "good" or "bad."
One might have the
conception that cutting trees destroys homes for birds and other
animals. Another person might have the conception that cutting trees is
necessary to satisfy the need to provide homes for humans. Whatever
concept is understood from the object, may be the truth. Just because
there may be other viewpoints to this situation, does not mean that
there has to be false statements. The tree can be used for many uses
from medicine to paper to boats and none of these views would be wrong.
The tree remains to be a tree, but the values of the tree can
differentiate, depending on who is using it.
The conception of God, or
the non-conception of God, is another issue that many people make the
mistake of trying to prove. A well recognized philosopher, Soren
Kierkegaard states, "For if God does not exist it would of course be
impossible to prove it; and if he [or she] does exist it would be folly
to attempt it." Demonstrating the existence or non- existence of God
only produces reasons for belief, not the actual proof that God exists.
Kierkegaard also claims, "...between God and his works there exists an
absolute relationship: God is not a name but a concept"( Kierkegaard
72). The relationship between man and God is a concept. A person with
belief in God, cannot prove its existence through his or her own
relationship with God.
Kierkegaard adds again, "The works of God are
such that only God can perform them" We have no basis of proving God's
works, nor do we know what kind of works God uses on different
individuals. Yet, some religious groups have made the mistake to try to
enforce their own religion upon different individuals. Some religious
groups claim that their religion is the only "true" religion, which is
very untrue.
This may be a reason why religion has been a major factor
in previous wars and movements. The attempt to follow one truth,
instead of freely allowing individuals and societies to follow their
own truth, has led many people into frustration and hostility. All
concepts are so dynamic that the truth that one believes may appear to
be self-ironic. A person may believe that television promotes violence
in kids, exposes the use of profanity, and stupidity. Another person my
believe that television may be educational because the exposure of all
these problems will form into understanding. Although both may be
perfectly true to each other, the two issues are found to be to be
contradictory. The disagreement does not make the other statement
false, but establishes another truth.
If each of the blind men spend less time on proving his own account
and spend more time understanding the different truths that exist, they
may discover that all perceptions of the elephant can be taken into
consideration. The men may discover that the elephant is a great living
pillar, a great snake, and like a sharp ploughshare at the same time,
or at different times. The blind men may even come to the conclusion
that the elephant may be neither of these. The opinions of the blind
men may be constantly in motion because of the acceptance of the many
viewpoints that currently exist and may exist in the future. Although
the elephant may stay the same, opinions about it may change and adapt.
--- Works Cited
Bowie, Lee G., Michaels, Meredith W., Solomon, Robert C. Twenty
Questions "An Introduction to Philosophy. Harcourt Brace & Company,
3rd ed. Kierkegaard 72- 75
Handout. Traditional Parable
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