by onintwo 5 Replies latest jw friends
Ran across this quote today. It seems to be especially poignant for this board's participants.
Francis Bacon is attributed to saying: "If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts. But if he will content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties."
I like it! What do you think?
Onintwo
Wow... pretty profound. It's a keeper.....THANKS.
I doubt it!
carm
It depends on the person. Where the person starts isn't necessarily relevant.
Life remains full of uncertainties. Very few things are written in stone, despite centuries of human development and history. That fact doesn't keep many people from reaching a point of certainty in a range of areas both secular and spiritual.
A thinking person, though... a person who searches for ultimate truth, will (or should) seldom reach the point of certainty. The best we can hope for is finding what truth works for us personally. Beyond that...
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. -- Andre Gide
Excellent quote, Onintwo!
Teejay wrote:
A thinking person, though... a person who searches for ultimate truth, will (or should) seldom reach the point of certainty.
I wholeheartedly agree. Perhaps what Bacon meant is that starting without presuppositions will help a person to arrive at a more reasoned position. Dogmaticism rarely proves worthy of confidence. I also really liked the quote in your signature, Teejay!
SNG
Doesn't seem logical to me. Maybe I just don't get it.
