Photo Nice Cup of Tea by snappysmashingbloke This is another thought experiment. I like this one as a way of getting less certain about how much we know. I like being less certain about how much I know, because it loosens up my mental models, and helps keep me enjoying life in fresh, new ways. Loosening mental models is also a good exercise in developing new ones - also known as learning.
Simply take a household object (a cup, a pillow, a book...) and spend 20-30 minutes noticing everything about it you possibly can. Look at it from all angles, touch, listen to and smell it (taste it?).
Do you think you know everything about it yet? Are there parts that you cannot see - can your senses really catch everything about it?
Are there details too small, too subtle, too hidden to notice? If you think you know everything then ask yourself this...
Would a dog/electron microscope/dolphin or amoeba have a different knowledge of this object than you?
Can you know everything about where it came from and how it was made?
In which case can you still say you know everything about it?
And if you can't know everything about something as simple as a cup what can you be certain that you really know?....
4 comments:
Sometimes I think my greatest life challenge is realizing my brain tends to default to this kind of thinking...while wondering if it's normal! I love it...I wonder how common it is for others to be thinking this way?
I think for many people thinking this way is a disorienting experience. They do it from time to time, but in safe contexts.
If someone cannot really know a cup of tea, then how can someonebe morally certain about another person's (or culture's) nature?
the trick is balancing the uncertainty with the need to act. The pleasure is bathing in the wonder of it.
Interesting...to think about others feeling disoriented.
Is it ever possible to be morally certain about the nature of another person/culture?
The pleasure of contemplation, indeed!
All our actions are guided by thought and thought being a product of knowledge acquired over a period of time is never complete. Putting an end to thought and notions maybe difficult but not impossible. And once we come out of that and start questioning or exploring - confusion ends. I like your way of approach. You can have a look at some of my analysis on similar lines.
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