But if we believe that no bell in us tolls to let us know for certain when truth is in our grasp, then it seems a piece of idle fantasticality to preach so solemnly of our duty of waiting for the bell.
-- philosopher William James (1842-1910)
Utilizing the toolsets at the end of each section of this Web site might help reveal its intent more clearly.
With built-up knowledge being so inherently fallible, and our most basic assumptions being highly questionable, there is a strong argument for a certain minimalism of thought.
Firm belief might be an unjustifiable extravagance. Certainty might be merely a lack of imagination.
The alternative is a continual awareness that all knowledge is tentative and partial, and a corresponding openness to considering new ideas and questioning old ones. Every idea should be tested in the fire of experience, and modified or discarded when necessary.
One aspect of this openness and continual redefinition is a fluidity of thought that could be called "flying" instead of "landing." Thoughts deemed "true" are not held fast but allowed to change shape and flow.
This new approach is not a muddled soft-headedness or a naive acceptance of every shiny bauble. Ideas still should be required to prove their worth as an accurate reflection of distilled experience.
With so many assumptions likely to be wrong, it is well worth the effort to identify and minimize them. In particular, it is useful to change the very way we look at the world:
Things are not unitary but compound, made of parts and forming parts of larger wholes, at every scale.
Things are not distinct but boundless, blending with and inseparable from their surroundings. Things form an interconnected mesh with everything else.
Things are not persistent but transforming, existent only for a moment, impermanent, showing patterns across time but not persisting across time.
It is an unnecessary assumption that things have substance.
It is an unnecessary assumption that awareness involves either a perceiver or a perceived. Sensory awareness arises as itself; a sight is a sight, not a seer and a seen.
If sensory awareness is so fundamental, beyond truth and falsehood, then perhaps our next step is to take a closer look at what is known about it, and whether that knowledge gives us any special advantage.
Next: Mind Over Matter
For Further Exploration
Quiet contemplation is a fine pastime that sometimes gets lost in the buzz and whir of modern society. Late-night bull sessions on the "big questions" of life also help sharpen the blades of the mind. Not all information comes from a screen!