heh
Love is patient, Love is kind,
It does not envy, it does not boast,
It is not proud, It is not rude,
It is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil,
but rejoices with the truth.
Love always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
[Love never fails.]
(Corinthians 13: 4-8)
The Bible is a tabulation of old ideas that have stuck with us. Some of them are bad, and have stuck with us because they derive from aspects of western society that have not changed since ancient times, like the tyranny of the heterosexual majority. Some of them are good, and they are still around because they represent universal truths, insights into the human condition in general, that aren't any newer today than they were thousands of years ago.
One major question that arises during one's adolescence is that of whether to follow "tradition" or take a more individualistic tack. During these years, for the first time, it is possible to diverge from the track that was made for you and to put yourself on your very own. In the opinion of this reporter, problems arise if you go about either without a solid dose of the other. Following what came before you eliminates the responsibility to think for yourself. Reliance solely on the knowledge of ancestral society is a condemnation to suffer for the failures of one's forefathers. It is contradictory to depend upon traditional knowledge alone, because the precepts of tradition are only contributed to by those who think for themselves.
The old saying about "reinventing the wheel" says alot about how long people have been trying to go it alone, and find all the answers themselves. It is silly to struggle to resolve problems that have been successfully addressed already. With a broader perspective, and the study of history, it is clear that there are many things about being a human being that have always been true, and that many of the issues that we deal with aren't special to our day and age, that have not changed with the technological advances in our society.
Rather, a mix of the two is best. Everybody's old pal, Isaac Newton, insisted that "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". What he says here epitomizes the ideal approach to this question, no one can deny that Newton, co-Granddaddy of Calculus, thought things through for himself. Indeed, it would have been impossible for his dad, or anyone else for that matter, to tell him how to discover The Calculus. However, in order for him to make use of his exceptional abilities, it was first necessary to possess an understanding of the mathmatics and science that came before him, so as to avoid retreading old ground.
This was alot shorter, but I remembered that Alex needed a philosophy journal article from me, and i realized i already had a topic in what i was writing, and figured i would just keep going. But mostly it's just because i was self conscious about throwing a Bible passage up there, and needed those 4 paragraphs to justify it to myself
(I'm not going to turn the article in until tomorrow, so any comments until then, or afterwards, but especially until then, would be appreciated, alot)
It isn't monday, or even like a monday, but i decided to post over here because i was all geared up for an emo-post friday night, but i don't have to do that anymore. As I'm sure all of our friends at Verizon would agree, communication is the Shiznit.