Summarising ‘The Truth’
The idea that there is an objective truth, was invented by Plato. Strong defence of The Truth diminishes the thinker’s ability to escape from his viewpoint to find a much better or more likely truth. This cognitive condition, or meme, is called PTV, Plato Truth Virus.
Aristotle imbedded PTV in his syllogism. This was picked up by Thomist doctrine and became the basis of logic. Western education has made a god out of logic and the ‘search for certainty’.
The Western education system was set up by the medieval Church and spread throughout Europe and exported to other parts of the world with missionary zeal. Even today, children are sent to school, their young brains programmed with the logic operating system, and then they’re given the impression that all they have to do in life is “to get the right answer” or “tell the truth”.
Only Microsoft’s global export of Bill Gates’ DOS has ever rivalled the Vatican’s global export of Thomas Aquinas’ PTV.
PTV is ubiquitous. Manifestations can be annoying like in Space Gluttons and Bores or fatal like in Bullies and Righteous and Sightless thinkers. Over 26 million humans may have been destroyed last century directly due to PTV.
Unfair Conclusion?
It is only with the unfair advantage of hindsight that one is able to look back on the evolution of our thinking habits and consider the consequences that they may have produced.
Did Plato ever realise what might happen as a consequence of the ideas that emerged from those Bacchanalian dinner parties he attended on those hot Athenian summer nights?
Did Saint Thomas Aquinas ever anticipate how rigorously later popes would prosecute his ideas and make them the core doctrine of the greatest education enterprise in history?
To be fair, I don’t see how they could. Plato and Thomas were not villains. I imagine they were just doing what interested them most at the time and hoping for a modest amount of success.
Could Bill Gates ever have known he would become the richest business man in the world when he first developed DOS? In his book he says he once remarked to Paul Allen that a million dollars was a huge amount of money, and he could never imagine having more than that.
Hmmm 😉
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IMPORTANT NOTE: THE DFQs
The biggest challenge for me, as a trainer, is to figure out how to get trainees to understand the direct connection between the number of DFQs they do and their personal increase in these skills.
Have a think and see if you can give me just one idea (based on your own experience of doing this training so far) on how I can help future trainees to increase their number of DFQs and therefore increase the level of their training benefits. Thank you.
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DFQ #059:
Give an example of how your life been influenced by the ideas of Plato and Aquinas?
My parents are blue-collar workers. School and university teachers hardly ever believe in the possibility for children coming from the common backgrounds to become something more than their parents. I have to fight with this …In fact, they are uninitiative, always afraid of something…The USSR successfully incorporated the matrix of obedient (blind) performers without their points of view. I feel that being spineless (inherited from father) and subconscious fear of doing something different which may be a fail accompany me… I should work harder to uproot this feeling…
Using hindsight I believe my ability to develop towards reaching my full potential as a human being has been significantly impacted by the widespread absorption and prevalence of Greco Roman thinking within the society I grew up within. As well as being indoctrinated with the “this is right that is wrong” approach to my general education – this was greatly compounded by continually being informed by my parents, teachers, careers advisor’s, clergy, extended family, et al of actually what was possible for me to achieve and what was not! “People like us do not go to university we are tradesman” “People like us are not clever enough to become professionals, run companies become wealthy!” “Aspirations are not for the likes of us Lad”. I was continually lectured on the “truth” that I had an appointed role in life that had been dictated by the family standing and social hierarchy I had been born into. It was not for me to question why? This is just how it is and has been for centuries!
It has taken the past 30 years to unlearn these deeply implanted doctrines and truly understand what I can achieve simply by being me.
I tend to look for the “right” answer in most situations. What the DFQ prompted is–do I ask myself how to respond to situations in a way that I think there is a “right” answer instead asking in a way that may generate a creative answer or where there is no answer.
I grew up truly disliking “authoritative” thinking and its resultant behaviours in those who have which, of course, usually got me into trouble. With adults, the response I get is: “leave him out, you can’t control him”. Now I know better and I enjoy my thinking. It has made me more effective for myself and my colleagues – they like the consultations for free.
It is clear that we all have been influenced by Plato and Aquinas, but by looking at schools such as the Chautauqua Institution one can say that there is a speck of encouragement towards free thinking. The questioning, the never settling and even the act of service in an unconditional fashion promotes a freedom of thought. I believe the current generation Z and the millenial generation are great examples of the breaking away from the Plato and Aquinas schools of thought.
Nice observation, Fadi. I hope this is true.
Have a think and see if you can give me just one idea (based on your own experience of doing this training so far) on how I can help future trainees to increase their number of DFQs and therefore increase the level of their training benefits. Thank you.
Mike you are doing a great job with the online training.
One way would be to do some DFQ related to myths , which has to do not only with religious matters, but also myths related to work,society and family.
Give an example of how your life been influenced by the ideas of Plato and Aquinas?
In my personal experience, my biggest PTV was at the time I was between seventeen and twenty-six years old. In those days I used to believe, that knowledge was everything, and the University will teach you all you need to be successful specially in business. Successful people has the right data/information, to be successful you should know your customers and competitors…
Fortunately, to my detriment at times my thinking or questioning has guided me for several decades. Even while I was a US Air Force officer I would frequently question certain policies and/or regulations. Of course, that was not what was expected of me. What was expected was for me to basically ‘obey’ directives regardless of their flaws.
Hence, my career may not have been as successful (promotions-wise) than had I ‘stayed-in’line’ etc.. Hindsight (foresight) would have been helpful. Ha!
I have seen there is no any other thougt apart from plato’s views….pTV hand made me think and rethink about the truth aspect of life.plato’s ideas change me to a batter skills of understanding,and it also make my day to day activities to look well done.
Not sure how to answer this DFQ.
Truth is I was a liberal art major in college. Didn’t take many or found the science courses fascinating.
I think their ideas (logic) have little influence in my personal life. Majority of my day-to-day problems are people-related.
Being taught “Logic” at High School several decades ago in Queensland.