The Mind Has Limitations
Mon, 01/28/2008 - 17:29 — admin
MICHAEL: But what about the mind? The mind isn't limited in the same way the senses are, is it?
TEACHER: The mind is affected by the senses. But it is not only because of the senses that our mental abilities, or our power of reasoning, are not free from blemishes. Even the logicians who attempt to understand everything by reason will admit that it is not an error-proof system.
Firstly, in deductive reasoning, the information which the conclusion is based on is usually acquired by sense perception.1 Knowledge acquired by sense perception has already been shown to be incomplete and sometimes misleading. A correct conclusion cannot be reached through incorrect information.
The next point is that even if the information the conclusion is based on is correct, the mind may make a mistake in reasoning. Since the mind is imperfect, even when it is dealing with correct information, it may arrive at an incorrect conclusion.
A good example of this is a well-known incident from the life of Von Helmont, a l7th-century scientist. He wrapped grains of wheat in a sweat-soaked shirt, placed the shirt in a box, and left the box alone for some time. When he returned after 20 days, he found baby mice in the shirt and noticed that some of the wheat was missing. He mistakenly concluded that the wheat had turned into baby mice. He did not consider that a mother mouse had crawled into the box, eaten some of the wheat, and given birth to the baby mice. Thus deluded, he advanced Theory of spontaneous generation of life from matter. This theory was later disproven by the famous scientist Louis Pasteur.2
If a person sees himself as the Supreme Enjoyer, he will automatically live a life of exploitation. He will not respect others or the environment, nor will he care for the well-being of others. He will lead a hedonistic life of unrestricted sense enjoyment, lording over everything and everyone. Although human in form, he will be no more than an animal who lives by the philosophy “might makes right.”The Mind Has Limitations
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
MICHAEL: But what about the mind? The mind isn't limited in the same way the senses are, is it?
TEACHER: The mind is affected by the senses. But it is not only because of the senses that our mental abilities, or our power of reasoning, are not free from blemishes. Even the logicians who attempt to understand everything by reason will admit that it is not an error-proof system.
Firstly, in deductive reasoning, the information which the conclusion is based on is usually acquired by sense perception.1 Knowledge acquired by sense perception has already been shown to be incomplete and sometimes misleading. A correct conclusion cannot be reached through incorrect information.
The next point is that even if the information the conclusion is based on is correct, the mind may make a mistake in reasoning. Since the mind is imperfect, even when it is dealing with correct information, it may arrive at an incorrect conclusion.
A good example of this is a well-known incident from the life of Von Helmont, a l7th-century scientist. He wrapped grains of wheat in a sweat-soaked shirt, placed the shirt in a box, and left the box alone for some time. When he returned after 20 days, he found baby mice in the shirt and noticed that some of the wheat was missing. He mistakenly concluded that the wheat had turned into baby mice. He did not consider that a mother mouse had crawled into the box, eaten some of the wheat, and given birth to the baby mice. Thus deluded, he advanced Theory of spontaneous generation of life from matter. This theory was later disproven by the famous scientist Louis Pasteur.2