What does intellect have to do with first principles? When we really think about it – pun allowed – we realize something really profound.
It is our ability to think which separates us from all other creatures here on Earth.
Bernard Shaw is noted to have a character stand up and say in his play, ‘Sound of Freedom’ (?) …
There is nothing you won’t find in a man that is different the a pig or a horse than his mind.
‘Sound of Freedom’ (?) …
This is to say that it is our ability to consciously reason which sets us – humans – aside from everything else.
But, if this is true why do we have so much “war” in the world … including in our own profession. This is to say, why do we have to fight with words.
It’s precisely because we are able to “fight with words” instead of with missiles, guns, knives, and pitchforks, that we are able to litigate the truth.
Often times truth hurts! But, what is is truth really particularly with respect to the intellectual mind.
I am willing to venture that the “truth” in such situations is not much more than identifying the boundary of demarcation between differing entities opposing views.
Yes! What this means is that the truth is the exact line where my responsibilities end and yours begin … and importantly vice versa.
Now, to realize this intellectually alone is really a challenge, because our intellect as driven rationally perceptively through the ego is self-protective … and self-projective.
In other words the intellectual use of the mind through the ego allows us the ability to press the external bounds of truth through a certain level of understanding, BUT here’s the rub.
The intellect only controls perhaps 5% of the mind. The other 95% is what is determined through our emotions. And of course, that is where the next blog post will jump in.
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As an unrelated aside. What I am realizing as I write this is that this blog is going to be my free-form area. This is to say that I am not going to worry about getting everything right on the first run through. I’m just going to do my best to stream of conscious my ideas on whatever topic as relates to it’s particular category. And then, AFTER just putting down my ideas in stream form, I will go back and see if through the mess, I can craft a great blog which I believe is worthy of weekly post out to include LinkedIn as a forum. It’s my real hope to strengthen my intuitional writing skills and draw forward from my wellspring of knowledge through my individual draw from the source of infinite intelligence and in doing so become greater and greater. As Wallace D. Wattles says, this will be my “certain way.”