Intolerance

March 4, 2010 · Posted in Tao 128 views

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Growing up, I heard it said that some people have “book smarts” but no “common sense”. This meant that some people, although highly educated, seemed lost concerning the simple things. This is a long standing observation. The Daodejing has some similar statements:

“The wise one does not know many things; He who knows many things is not wise.”

“The more knowledge you seek, the less you will understand.”

I don’t think this means that wisdom and education are mutually exclusive. It is however, the tendency of an educated person to rely more heavily on their education than their intuition. When you learn things, new doors open for you but at the same time, often other doors close. It’s not because they have to, it’s because we choose to let them.

The child stops believing in fairies, unicorns, ghosts, devils, angels, gods; as he replaces them with facts, equations, formulas, methodologies, explanations. The simple things become more complicated as they are examined, classified, and broken down into parts and procedures.

I have nothing against knowledge. I fully embrace technology and enjoy the wondrous things we can do. Science has brought us some amazing things. Yet like most things we do, these too come with costs.

I’ll skip over the obvious costs to the environment our scientific advances have waged and speak to a more social one. A new intolerance. I shouldn’t say “new”, but perhaps “evolved” would be more fitting. What we once knew as religious intolerance has become scientific intolerance.

Those people who still cling to ideas that require “faith” alone which cannot be proven or dis-proven by the scientific method are often ridiculed for their “hokey” or “backwards” beliefs. They are seen as uneducated or even intellectually inferior.

It’s almost a passing of the torch from one belief system to the next. I do mean belief system, too. I have had conversations with some of the more hardcore intellectuals who adamantly deny that science is a “belief” system. It’s a methodology that is substantiated by empirical evidence and verifiable through repeatable experimentation. I agreed with him, but then I asked, “Do you, or do you not believe the conclusions reached scientifically?”

Science is a system through which conclusions about the universe and ourselves can be reached. Those who subscribe to this system often do so to the exclusion of all other systems. To them, science is the only system which can provide the answers and any other method is incorrect. Sound familiar?

Did I mention that I like science? It’s beautiful, intricate, sometimes mysterious, sometimes frustrating but has helped us build things and advance our society in so many ways…both helpful and harmful. Of course this same description can probably fit with most popular religions at some point in history.

Despite all their similarities, it’s their differences we focus on. Which can mean only one thing. It’s not religious intolerance or scientific intolerance. It’s just plain old intolerance in general. Religion and science don’t have to be a “this or that” choice. A man of science can pray or meditate. A spiritual person can recognize that life evolves.

We don’t have to make a choice between wisdom and knowledge. No belief system has all the answers. In fact, most belief systems change over time. Yes, even science has evolved. So follow your interests, follow what feels right and makes you happy. Become a physicist that’s also spiritual. Find the answers that fit you, not the answers that someone else tries to fit on you.

Do that, and then be content that your neighbor has done the same. Even if your answers don’t match.

Tags: daodejing, intolerance, religion, science, spirituality