The philosophy class that we are taking runs on a Saturday morning at
10am. This should be pretty convenient for us but this morning we
managed to arrive late. Penny’s car died on her way home last
night. She was too busy panicking to ask what a Wise person would
do. This morning, I had to visit the garage so we arrived at the
class 15 minutes late to find Martin all alone; no one else had turned
up. We started anyway and Margaret also arrived 10 minutes later
so it was not quite as alive a debate as last week but interesting none
the less.
We first of all refreshed what we had covered
last week with Martin
emphasising that this was “practical philosophy”, so the point is to
apply the lessons and live a better life. I asked about the
“State of our being”, a phrase that was used in last week‘s
hand-out. Martin explained this as about how we feel, a state
that varies from time to time. We may be feeling stressed,
relaxed, curious, lethargic etc.
Martin then introduced the subject of principles. These
being beliefs or modes of behaviour that influence how we lead our
life. The actions of a Wise Man are guided by lasting principles
rather than by selfish or fleeting concerns.
Examples of this type of principle include:
1.
Do to others as you would have others do to you.
2.
Live honestly, harm no man and render to each his due.
The most important principle for wisdom is that of
self-knowledge. Doubt about your self is reflected
everywhere. This principle is reflected in many philosophical
texts. For example:
1.
Whoever knows essentially his own nature, can know also that of other men and can penetrate into the nature of beings.
2.
This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
This principle begs the question of “what is ‘self’?” We each
have different attributes that are displayed at different times in our
lives, when we are in different roles and when we are in different
states of being. What is constant between these? We should
learn to appreciate that which is unchanging in our selves. What
is the essence of our selves? Part of this is made up of our
identity. Our identity is not simply formed by our experiences;
there is also a part made from our innate nature; our genetic
heritage.
This is illustrated by the tale of a lion cub that is brought up as a
sheep. He behaves exactly like a sheep while that is his only
frame of reference. One day, an adult lion comes along and roars
at the flock of sheep. They all run off, but the lion stays; it
recognises an affinity for this other creature; maybe just a similarity
of form, but maybe a deeper affinity. The lion cub follows the
lion, is taken under the influence of the lion and from that point on
acts like a lion.
Real life examples of this sort of thing seem to show that the lion cub
could never really be one or the other. It will always be
different; never fully part of either group. This reminded me
very much of
Stranger in a Strange Land. The human child, Mike,
is brought up by an alien race and adopts their frame of
reference. When “rescued” and brought back to human society, he
struggles to make the adjustment. He does not feel part of the
human race but eventually recognises that he is more human than alien.
Another important principle is that of neither accepting nor rejecting
but putting into practice. Ideas that are put to you should not
be dismissed out of hand; neither should they be accepted
uncritically. Instead, they should be tried out and the results
observed.
An example of this is the story from Bede’s
History of the English
Church and People. When
Augustine came to England to preach to
the natives, the Saxon King, Ethelbert, listened to what he had to say
and did not accept or reject it. Instead, acting for his kingdom,
he allowed Augustine to preach and evaluated the results. It is
important to observe the results of an action before you can evaluate a
theory. This is the basis of the scientific method but is also
vital in the evaluations performed by the wise.
This is related to the principle of having an open mind. Hear
with an open mind; apply your learning and observe the effect.
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served Tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and
speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first
empty your cup?"
We all have “opinions and speculations”; most of what we do and think
is by habit. We should examine our habits and bring our reason to
bear on them. Are they reasonable?
We should also continue to ask what a wise man or woman would do.
And keep practicing the exercise from lesson 1.