21 Nov – Reflection Questions

i. Result of Non-thinking“He who cannot reason is a fool; he who will not is a bigot; he who dare not is a slave.” How does each failure of reasoning result in its respective outcome?

ii. Faith & ObjectivityHow can faith and objectivity harmoniously co-exist within the individual?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – humanity has stopped thinking

• Intellect: “original, independent thinking free from past influence and bias.”

• Intellectual is often confused with intelligent• Unbiased thinker vs. Well-informed

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – humanity has stopped thinking

• Thinking does not come naturally• (Beyond a point – Even animals have rudimentary

discrimination)

• Yet we all believe we know how to think• Why?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – humanity has stopped thinking

• Thinking does not come naturally• (Beyond a point – Even animals have rudimentary

discrimination)

• Yet we all believe we know how to think• Because we cannot see our areas of ignorance

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – humanity has stopped thinking

• Lack of intellect “is aggravated by the fact that one needs an intellect to notice the absence of intellect.”

• An insane person does not know they are insane• Implicit bias

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – impliCit Bias

• Develop from early childhood• We hold beliefs without knowing that we hold them

• “They seem too obvious to you that you feel it would be sacrilegious to question them.”

The Fall of the Human Intellect

“It’s so intrinsic to your nature, you’re not even aware when you do it.” (Traffic. 1996)

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – impliCit Bias

• Solution is to develop the habit of questioning everything• Reason? • Supporting or contradictory evidence?

• Why does ‘Fake News’ work?• We fail to question, react on implicit bias

The Fall of the Human Intellect

“... he, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool;

and he, who dares not, is a slave.”William Drummond. (1805). Academical Questions, Vol.1

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – impliCit Bias

• Bigot, fool, and slave – Which is worst and why?

• Belief without reason is the essence of fanaticism

• And yet faith is an essential element in human life

?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – Faith

• Faith is an essential element in human life

• No action takes place without faith

• What is faith?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

“Faith is a belief in a thing I do not know until I come to know what I believe.”

Joel Goldsmith

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark.”

Rabindranath Tagore

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – Faith

• Vedanta philosophy describes ¿raddh¡, translated as faith• Poor translation

• áraddh¡ begins with faith• Includes consistent effort to turn faith into wisdom

• Fundamental principle of education: “Knowledge proceeds from the known to the unknown.”

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – Faith preCedes knowledge

• The unknown can only be conveyed through known factors• E.g. Location of friend’s house (FHI, Ch.5)• E.g. God is “The Ear of the ear” (Kenopanisad, I.2)

• Faith in the unknown precedes inquiry into it

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – oBjeCtivity

• Intellect governing mind• Not suppression• E.g. Adult-Child relationship

• Well-being is not impacted by fluctuations of BMI• Even This Shall Pass Away by T. Tilton

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Once in Persia reigned a king,Who upon his signet ring

Graved a maxim true and wise,Which, if held before his eyes,Gave him counsel at a glance

Fit for every change and chance.Solemn words, and these are they;

“Even this shall pass away.”

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – oBjeCtivity

• Objectivity is freedom to experience profit-loss, pleasure-pain, joy-sorrow, honor-dishonor, life-death, etc without loss of stability• E.g. ??

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – oBjeCtivity

• Objectivity is freedom to experience profit-loss, pleasure-pain, joy-sorrow, honor-dishonor, life-death, etc without loss of stability• E.g. Watching a movie• Not involved

• Loss of pen / watch / car / home / family• Somewhere we break

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – oBjeCtivity

• Objectivity arise from knowledge• “The sense of dispassion ... develops as you identify with the

higher values of life.” (Vedanta Treatise, Ch.4)

• World = Pairs-of-opposites• At all levels, life is change

• We must have faith that greater objectivity lies before us

The Fall of the Human Intellect

“A human being alone is designed to free himself fom the influence of the changes occurring in the world. Stand firm like a lighthouse as the

waves of challenges kiss its feet and recede. He can develop a powerful intellect to rise well

above the onslaughts of the rigorous world.”A. Parthasarathy

The Fall of the Human Intellect, Ch.5

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – Faith

• Faith implies objectivity• How?

The Fall of the Human Intellect

Ch.5 – Faith

• Faith implies objectivity• Faith recognizes itself as faith

• “... a thing I do not know ...”

• Blind faith = False certainty• Arises from involvement, attachment

?

The Fall of the Human Intellect