We all have intellectual activity. We interact with the world around us and we process our thoughts. We all see, hear, read, and think many things in the course of a day. Our intellectual life is continuous as we take in data received by the senses. Many people have day residue dreams as well as the thoughts and images that occur in a person’s mind during sleep.  We are active all the time.

Sometimes we experience new things which come from outside. We interact with others and the external world. We all have an intellectual life. At times, it’s just about remembering something and working with those  ideas, as we call them, which originate in ourselves, and at other times we pay attention to something that has taken place outside ourselves. 

Our internal intellectual activity is such a powerful force that we can conceive astounding ideas and bring memories to mind. Sometimes we can react to such an extent that the mind can make the body sick and we can suffer terribly. Fear is a good example of this. At other times, we may be in trouble with the world outside us. We are bombarded by what is going on in the world around us whether we like it or not, and we react according to prior experiences. 

Our inner intellectual life can also be manipulated by agencies and forces around us: the media, for example. Some messages are obvious and direct. Others are subliminal; always present and suggestive. Most of these are “opinions” and “partial truths.” Think about the images used in the news.  If the journalists like a person, he or she is presented in the best light; smiling and composed. The image, is shown with positive taglines and remarks – omitting anything awkward or negative. This is also the basis of advertising and marketing. Advertisers create needs in the viewer which may be artificial, just as newsmakers may appeal to their viewers.

We need to discern as the Old Thinkers did. They were looking for TRUTH. Some call this intellectual habit WISDOM. The Ancient Greeks, our ancestral civilization, called these thinkers “friends of wisdom”: “PHILOSOPHERS.” The called the intellectual habit, which they considered the mother of all sciences, “PHILOSOPHY”.

In recent times, there has been a meaning shift and the word “philosophy” has become popular to describe the rules, policies, politics of an institution or business. Language is living and evolves, but we have lost “philosophy”; first the habit, and then the meaning.

This lack of discernment in the habit of philosophy has made us easy prey to be manipulated and led on by the Media, News, popular Music, political leaders, Pastor’s messages and by our own feelings.

This has had serious consequences. Our young generation are so driven to having the latest things; physical and electronic. They cannot see that they are just things and not what should control our lives. (To be continued).

St. Augustin Memory, 28 August 2018.

 

NEWS. GOOD NEWS. FAKE NEWS.

We are rapidly losing sight of the Truth. This doesn’t mean it was easier to know the Truth before. Now we are losing the ability to think and it is this lack which makes us weak. Fake News comes from this, as well as the Media and messages from our leaders. Some take advantage of their authority and do not give real information, just their opinions which they pass off as “Truth.” This is an abuse of power. 

This is especially true when they refer to their sources as “a confidant,” “an official who prefers not to be named” or “an official speaking anonymously”. Quoting anonymous sources is not to quote at all. It is hearsay. The message is no more than the idle talk of gossips.

 

Fake News is not just untruthful. It is dangerous.

 

They may say “I didn’t know” or “You must respect my opinions” but they are still being deceptive. They may say “I do not try to impose my opinions on others” but, when they publish them, they are abusing their position by spreading their personal opinions. Everyone has his or her own opinions but endorsing them with their authority may create a lot of confusion. This does not always endorse Truth.

When I give my opinion, I must expect and respect the other’s right to challenge that opinion. This is elementary. If it is in my field, it is good to hear the opinions of others, to reflect on what has been said and, if it is constructive, I might accept their comments. But if it is outside my area, I must rectify wherever it is necessary and if it is related to the Truth, I absolutely must rectify what I have said or done. If not, I am abusing the authority that comes with my position and creating confusion in the society. This is just being honest.

 

Wisdom: The Master Intellectual Habit

 

A person’s intellectual strength depends on his or her capacity to discern or judge if something is “Reality” or not. In other words, you have to ask yourself if it is according to one of the essential characteristics of “Reality”: “Truth” or just “Looks Like” but “Is Not”.

 

St. Augustin Memory, 28 August 2018.