"...you could think about questions that were not trivial but for which there had always somehow been too many distractions..." (p. 85)
No! Does anyone spend an entire lifetime permanently distracted from serious and ultimate questions? A guy who had been on a long, solitary cruise and was interviewed on British TV said that he found a lot of time to think and used that time to think "mainly about religion."
OK, so far. Religion is not trivial. I would be interested to know more. He did not specify Christianity. Did he think about theism in the abstract, about comparative religions or about whatever tenets he had been taught? And what were they? One man's "religion" is Evangelical Christianity whereas another's is something else.
I would suggest, if I had the opportunity to discuss this with him, that he had had time not only to think but also to practice either prayer or meditation, depending on what he believed. Not all of us can practice the prayer of monotheist faith but anyone can meditate. And surely thought should be followed by some kind of action or practice?
Abstract thought about mathematics can be followed by the social practice of sharing the fruits of the thoughts with others.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I fear I am not as optimistic as you are! I think the vast majority of mankind, busy as they are with every day matters and problems, won't give much thought to serious and ultimate questions. And I agree that is regrettable.
I've reread the first ten chapters of STARFARERS, and I recall Captain Nansen saying that long space voyages gave him plenty of time for thinking and reading. Such as the Bible and writers like Borges. So this gentleman you mentioned who had been on a long cruise might have been a lapsed Anglican unexpectedly taking an interest in ultimate questions.
Ad astra! Sean
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