musings (apologies for the odd speech patterns; I'm in the middle of a historical fiction novel.)
Tonight I started thinking, as I am occasionally wont to do, and my mind drifted back to a point in my life that seemed quite revelatory, and was definitely life-changing. Examining how I now feel when I look back at that time, contrasting that with how I used to see it, I began to wonder if the only value we see in things lies in how well they support our current beliefs, worldviews, desires, etc.
This then got me wondering if the greatest virtue we can practice, then, might be in always striving to put away our own worldviews, beliefs, and such as we consider new things (insofar as that can even be done), so that we can consider things more freely and objectively. Certainly it can make for more rational thinking... it's exactly the total lack of that sort of thing that makes religious discussions with believers so frustrating (and usually pointless).
But then again, it occurred to me, setting aside my own understandings of things in order to give another point of view equal weight is not always right, either. I thought of certain slanders that had been spoken of me (forgive me, but I'll not repeat them here), and the idea that I should put aside my (highly differing) views of myself and my past in order to treat those ideas with such openness... well, I don't think that's the right choice.
Am I making the same mistake as the aforementioned believers? I don't know. Does the answer lie in finding moderation in one's open-mindedness? I don't know, but I'm distrustful of such a simplistic idea.
As is so often the case when I get to thinking, I don't really figure much of anything out, but I do end up seeing myself perhaps a bit clearer. Thanks for listening to my rambles, despite the overstylised mess that reading two period pieces in a row seems to be currently making of my writing style. :)
This then got me wondering if the greatest virtue we can practice, then, might be in always striving to put away our own worldviews, beliefs, and such as we consider new things (insofar as that can even be done), so that we can consider things more freely and objectively. Certainly it can make for more rational thinking... it's exactly the total lack of that sort of thing that makes religious discussions with believers so frustrating (and usually pointless).
But then again, it occurred to me, setting aside my own understandings of things in order to give another point of view equal weight is not always right, either. I thought of certain slanders that had been spoken of me (forgive me, but I'll not repeat them here), and the idea that I should put aside my (highly differing) views of myself and my past in order to treat those ideas with such openness... well, I don't think that's the right choice.
Am I making the same mistake as the aforementioned believers? I don't know. Does the answer lie in finding moderation in one's open-mindedness? I don't know, but I'm distrustful of such a simplistic idea.
As is so often the case when I get to thinking, I don't really figure much of anything out, but I do end up seeing myself perhaps a bit clearer. Thanks for listening to my rambles, despite the overstylised mess that reading two period pieces in a row seems to be currently making of my writing style. :)