Yesterday, I published an essay on the phrase “once and for all.” After I posted it, I resumed a reading through the science news and discovered a new “once and for all” on the very issue I had used as an example in the essay: The time of the first North Americans. Could there have been a more appropriate example of discovery overturning previous knowledge? What I had assumed to be the status of archaeological information on the subject was incorrect. Unaware as I was of research that I would later stumble upon, I mentioned the antiquity of the Paisley Caves residents and the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter’s residents, both pre-Clovis cultures. What I assumed about the history of early North Americans prior to the release of research on the Chiquihuite Cave in central Mexico was incomplete, even though I noted that further discoveries might negate current knowledge on the subject. Seems that my prediction, my “might,” was correct. Ciprian Ardelean of the Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas and others appear to have discovered evidence for those earlier North American residents.*
Imagine an earlier time and mentality. Imagine a time when all knowledge was “final.” Oh! Wait. You’re living in such a time. Here I was about to mention the thinking that led to the death of Socrates, the imprisonment of Galileo, and the burning of Joan of Arc, and then I realized that every age has its adherents to the omniscience du jour. Even in the age of scientific discovery one can find those who cannot accept “new” knowledge. Look no further than to Einstein who had difficulty with the quantum world and with his own version of Dark Energy. But if you want, look also to those who cannot accept any evidence that contradicts their accepted view of the world. Such, for example, was the case of those who would not accept a pre-Clovis culture in the Americas and those who would not accept the greater antiquity of dinosaurs over humans.
Fixed knowledge inhibits mental and psychological growth; yet, all of us harbor mental ships with some cargo of such knowledge, information that we cannot relinquish even in light of new and contradictory information. That to which we adhere in spite of contrary evidence is at the heart of many human conflicts. The surer we are, the more likely we are to take absolute positions mentally and biased views psychologically.
Does that mean there are no absolutes? Hmnn. I’m not sure. I think I know, however, that any statement, such as “There are no absolutes,” is self-contradictory. Isn’t the statement itself a proclamation of absolute knowledge? Every so often each of us might consider re-examining those “absolutes” that we treasure. They might not be as absolute as we think.
*Hood, Marlowe. AFP. 22 July 2020. Humans in America 30,000 years ago, far earlier than thought. Yahoo!News. Online at https://news.yahoo.com/humans-america-30-000-years-ago-far-earlier-160114498.html Accessed July 22, 2020.
Imagine an earlier time and mentality. Imagine a time when all knowledge was “final.” Oh! Wait. You’re living in such a time. Here I was about to mention the thinking that led to the death of Socrates, the imprisonment of Galileo, and the burning of Joan of Arc, and then I realized that every age has its adherents to the omniscience du jour. Even in the age of scientific discovery one can find those who cannot accept “new” knowledge. Look no further than to Einstein who had difficulty with the quantum world and with his own version of Dark Energy. But if you want, look also to those who cannot accept any evidence that contradicts their accepted view of the world. Such, for example, was the case of those who would not accept a pre-Clovis culture in the Americas and those who would not accept the greater antiquity of dinosaurs over humans.
Fixed knowledge inhibits mental and psychological growth; yet, all of us harbor mental ships with some cargo of such knowledge, information that we cannot relinquish even in light of new and contradictory information. That to which we adhere in spite of contrary evidence is at the heart of many human conflicts. The surer we are, the more likely we are to take absolute positions mentally and biased views psychologically.
Does that mean there are no absolutes? Hmnn. I’m not sure. I think I know, however, that any statement, such as “There are no absolutes,” is self-contradictory. Isn’t the statement itself a proclamation of absolute knowledge? Every so often each of us might consider re-examining those “absolutes” that we treasure. They might not be as absolute as we think.
*Hood, Marlowe. AFP. 22 July 2020. Humans in America 30,000 years ago, far earlier than thought. Yahoo!News. Online at https://news.yahoo.com/humans-america-30-000-years-ago-far-earlier-160114498.html Accessed July 22, 2020.
RSS Feed