People who hate questions
I’ve always known that there was a certain — and most assuredly, unreasonable — offense in asking questions. Not so much that the question itself was bad. I certainly don’t want to say that at all, there is much good in questions–much to learn. Socrates, I think, was right for the most part, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. And it is here that we find our problem, and also the answer to why so many people find questions offensive: they don’t examine anything, least of all “their life”. I’ve come across a great majority of people who don’t know why they believe what they say they believe. They’ve never considered the “great questions” (I don’t think many moderns do) and if they do, they don’t get very far. They spend far too much time reading recent books filled with pop-psychology and second-rate philosophical discourses (if you can even call them that). After all, why should we read old books? We’ve learned a lot more since then! (I don’t think so, we’ve probably taken quite a few steps back where it truly matters.) But that’s not to say that all recent books are bad, surely not. It’s just that the ones that are bad don’t concern themselves with what’s been said in the past. They don’t, “stand on the shoulders of giants,” as it were. In any case Schaeffer was right, we’re apathetic. And it’s probably a result of our personal affluence. And when we ask this sort of person a question, they get offended because not only have they been shown to have no idea why they believe something, they believe themselves to be beyond questions, why should they have to explain themselves! After all, “truth is personal”. Except for that one.
This is unfortunate, it shows a disregard for truth and a lack of virtue (especially honesty).
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Great post. This is why I really appreciate your posts over at the forums since they bring in and elucidate upon the historical philosophy of which I am very poorly read at. So I usually shut up on these matters (which is probably wise). I’ll get there one of these days.
Not saying anything strikes me as much wiser than not knowing, and saying. Which I’m never guilty of… Oh no… cough… The forums are actually why this post came about. It was that thread about what we should wear for church, and the fact that the very simple questions I asked either went ignored, or elicited some sort of antagonistic response. It really just blows my mind, I don’t understand how people are content with very little self-examination. Not that I want to paint all people that way, it’s certainly not the case.