The tricky thing about truth is, like Savater mentions, that sometimes we take stuff for granted and classify it as truth, and the problem is that some of the times we may be wrong. I agree with Savater in that there are 3 ways to get truth, by experience, by education, and by telling.
Throughout the week we've discussed which one of these is the most important and the most popular choise has been experience, and although that does sound convincing I think that actually it is a matter of balance between all three.
You can stduy at school all the theory you want, you can read book after book for years but in the end if you don't apply that knowledge into real life it really won't be enough.
In the same way, you can talk to tons of people or travel around the world looking for experience and if you don't combine that with theory you still won't be able to claim you know all the truths life has to offer. People may be wrong, they may want to fool you or perhaps they're simply making stuff up to look smart, and also, the world is so big and rich in knowledge that, a) You couldn't experience everything in a life time, and b) there would still be stuff that even after experiencing you wouldn't understand.
So, in my opinion, in order to really obtain truth you have to do two things. First, obtain as much as you can from experience, education and socializing in a balanced way, and then filter it using your reason, that is to say, your intellect, so that you can decide what stuff to keep and what to throw away. This is a fundamental process in the learning path because if you believe everyhing you're going to get confused and probably contradict yourself on some point so, everytime you experience, read, or hear something, analize it, and, using your reason see if it makes sence. If you do so, I guarantee you, you'll be one step ahead in the path of wisdom and knowledge.
You say you need to have truth and reason to be smart and capable. I think one leads to the other and that everybody is capable of using reason which(depending on your concept of being smart) if we practice it can help us in our deductions. How can you guarantee me that my reasoning is correct? I think we need to make tests/experimentations (among other methods) and complement our reasoning. If not, wouldnt we be limiting to one kind of thinking? or what do you think about that?
ResponderEliminar