Discussion Question for June 8th class.
Don Enss
I stand on the shoulders
of great philosophers and great theologians, and I wonder what makes me think
that I know the truth better than they did. Reading some of their works on both
sides of an issue is a humbling experience.
What do you think about when you read what they say and how different
might you think about their works if you had been born in India, China, Iraq,
Mexico, Russia or Iran?
They break you of that arresting humility, for better or worse, in Grad School. I always think about the Emerson quote that young scholars in libraries - so reluctant to challenge the wisdom of a Bacon or a Locke, forgetting that Bacon and Locke were once young scholars in libraries themselves. (Now our young scholars are more often on the internet than in physical libraries, perhaps giving them a confidence edge?) The humility to recall that an accident of birth accounts for so much of our worldview is one form of humility I hope all scholars retain.
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