BUILDING BRIDGES TO CROSS

CHAPTER ONE

THE SUBJECT

There is a folk tale I have read and heard a few times since childhood which endures in my mind because of being amusing and the wisdom it imparts. It is a tale of the blind men and the elephant which perhaps originated in a place where elephants roam, likely in India or Africa. It is worth telling at this point because of its relevance in this book. So here it goes, as far as I can remember:

Once upon a time a group of blind men were walking by a road when along came a traveler on an elephant. “Give way and let us pass,” warns the traveler, “for this elephant is big and heavy.” The blind men have never seen nor heard of an elephant before. Rather than moving over to the side of the road, they instead faced and approached the elephant to satisfy their curiosity. 

The first blind man reached out and felt the trunk with his hands. He exclaimed, “My, my! The elephant is very like a hose!”

The second blind man moved forward and came to the ear. Palpating it he shouted, “My, my! The elephant is very like a fan!

The third, a rather short one went forth to touch the leg, and whereupon he cried out, “My, My! The elephant is very like a tree!”

The fourth one leaned forward to pat the body and declared, “My, my! The elephant is very like a rock!”

The fifth man walked over to the rear, caught the tail, and then said, “My, my! The elephant is very like a rope!” 

The sixth one touched the tusk and exclaimed, “My, my! The elephant is very like a sword!”

The relevance here is that all of us can be the “blind men” in search of what this elephant actually appears. It is too huge for them to capture its real image. For us there are many things in life that are too huge to perceive in its entirety.  The universe for instance is one of those. Or existence in general, or of life and its meaning, and of what reality actually is. We know not their borders, but we know it is dotted with myriads of mysteries. In the course of human history many “blind men” have tried to figure them out; made many declarations, with new ones canceling out or improving on the earlier ones in attempt to form a larger and more meaningful picture.

Still there are lots of missing pieces to be discovered and “seen”. Now in my retirement years I am given the time to devote my efforts to be like one of the “blind men” trying to contribute and make a declaration. My studies and experience in Psychiatry have honed my capacity for understanding and analysis of people and phenomena. Such manner of thinking has prepared me to focus on the fundamental big things with no clear borders—yes, on the universe, life, and existence. Therefore this is what this book is all about.

I write not as a scientist but as a philosopher. A scientist I am not. I am not an expert in scientific knowledge. I have no laboratory and do no research. I may mention scientific discoveries and facts because it is known and it works, from readings and studies.

It is much easier to be a philosopher, for anyone of us can be one even without formal studies. As philosophers we are all students and learners. All we need is a mind to explore, and as such we are free to roam wherever we want to go. This enables us to see the forests and not just the trees.  Scientists do their thing the other way around, and then work their way up.

To tackle the big ones such as the universe, life, and existence is tantamount to searching for the truth. The task may involve a lifetime. At this point let us assume that our purpose in life is to search and find the truth. This book is to chronicle our travels toward our destination.