Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.
-Confucius
Dear, wise old Master Kong! You've all probably heard of him at some point: ancient Chinese philosopher, wrote the Analects, comes across as rather uptight and all about propriety and ritual and so forth. Stuffy. At least, that's the impression I'd gotten of him before I started reading up on him. He actually had a delightful sense of humor, a wise way of seeing the world, and while he was very interested in proper conduct, he wasn't quite the boring old conservative square pants he's painted as by the Taoists.
Confucius is a Latinization of his Chinese name, which is Kong Fu-Tzu, Old Master Kong. I've come to love dear old Master Kong. His Analects are a smooth read, if not exactly an easy read. They're like water, really: they're powerful, and you have to work hard to keep up with the current, but highly enjoyable all the same.
He was a man who truly loved wisdom, and did his best to ensure that if people didn't have sunlight, they'd at least have moon and stars.
Here's another quote from him that any scientist could live by, and every teacher should remember:
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
first time I have been here followed a link PZ left and I find a post on master Kong, what a pleasant surprise.
ReplyDeleteA skeptic who appreciates the wisdom of the east, "The Classics".
When you get used to the way things are said the deep understanding of how things really are is very clear.
I suspect that many of the them including Master Kong would be perfectly at home with the scientific world view and "the skeptical movement"
I will be checking back as time allows besides I like rocks.
uncle frogy