It begins when the old taboos of primitive society stop working; when society grows, becomes more complex, and starts to change. At that point, human being begins to ask questions — and, more than that, is forced to ask them.
Something like this happened in the time of ancient Athens, with the rise of the first democratic forms of society. The old order, in which everything was explained by dogmatic taboo, myth, and religion, began to lose its power.
But this process is still not finished. There are still much of wrong minded forces trying to stop democracy, real philosophy, and open critical reasoning. They usually call people back to the “good old days,” as if the past was a lost harmony. But most often this nostalgia is only a mask: behind it stands oligarchy, defending its wealth and hierarchy against progress of open society
From the break with the old order came critical thinking: the first real tradition of asking questions. And from the same source came science afterwards. Good quality philosophy is the mother of science, it’s ancestor.
Knowledge begins when a person no longer believes blindly in what has been handed down by wealthy lords, but begins to ask, to doubt, and to try to understand for real.
But proper knowledge requires a proper method: a movement away from dogmatism and prohibitions, toward reasonable criticism, facts, openness, and the recognition of the universal rights of human dignity.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.