Personally, I disagree that with the statement "It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world"
Albert Knox uses this statement to introduce the fact the many people have less to see about the issues around them. He says that we are born with the ability to wonder, and as we grow up this ability becomes something of the pass. He explains that it is because we have learned a sufficient amount in our lives and so we don't stop to question about the simplest things in life because we don't need to.
I disagree with it because I have not experienced enough to say that I have had enough with the world. I think that to experience something to the fullest you need to have touched it, smelt, seen it and thought about it. To experience something you must first have done one of these actions. When we are born we are more exposed to unknowns in our live because we have never experience them before. We wonder more because we are in a safe environment to explore and ask questions about a particular subject. As we grow up, it is not that we lose interest in learning new things, it is that subconsciously we are afraid to learn about the answer. That is I believe why many people stop wondering about the world.
Too some extent I can agree that Albert Knox maybe correct. This is because many people live having the same routine every day of the year until they change their status, by status I mean from being a baby to a kindergarten student, to a primary school student, to a middle school student, university student, to a working class person and to a retired person. All these are major transitions in a person's life and with these transitions come changes to our routine, either it a new route to school and a different time to wake up etc. I agree that all these ideas are true in that people get used to and they know subconsciously what they need to do everyday. Using the example "the rabbit and the top hat" I think explained very clearly about Knox's theory, people like to feel safe and that is why they don't explore.
This idea then relates to the fact that people need to feel safe to explore. As babies we do not understand what safety is and because of that they are always in the safest position to explore, however as we grow up some areas become more dangerous, in that I mean that our findings may provoke unwanted attention, others may disagree with our findings or that your findings may become an advantage for you personally. All these things come to the same conclusion, and that conclusion is that your findings become a target of disagreement, jealousy and displeasure. As a result these things may turn into a reason for war and conflict. For example, question such as "is there life after death?" only brings discomfort to those who think about them, so they chose to accept that there is life after death because it makes them happy and the majority of people agree with it and it will not bring conflict.
Jason Lee
4 comments:
If you disagree with the statement then why the phrase
"i think that age, experience and safety of the environment prohibits our ability to wonder, we continue to wonder but we do not explore as deeply as we did when we were young."
If age is one of the factors that prohibits our ability to wonder, then that must mean you agree with the statement, hence we grow up, and 'do not explore as deeply as we did' as children.
Your conclusion makes it sound more like you agree with the statement...
But your bit about safety I agree with. Most of those philosophical questions that Albert Knox talks about can't be accurately answered, like the example that used, "Is there life after death?" Nobody knows the exact answer, and pondering over it too much will eventually bring discomfort and conflict.
But I think babies do understand what safety is. I believe it's in their instincts. That's why they cry when strangers try to pick them up or when they are separated from their mothers. They'll cry when they need something because they know that if they cry somebody will come and provide them with the comfort that they need (safety).
I really enjoyed reading your blog Jason.
I think you should expand more on your point 'people need to feel safe to explore' though. If you think that is the case, then in what ways do people achieve this?
Also, your points made in the 2nd last paragraph and your conclusion (as Yui mentioned as well) sounds more like you are agreeing with the statement rather than disagreeing.
You might need more points to back up on your thoughts.
You seem to suggest "is there life after death?" only brings discomfort to those who think about them, i think that this comment is true, becuase some adults would rather live in a cosy world, than venture out to find this answer, especially if they hope the answer is a comforting one.
Furthermore, as we grow in experience, we do tend to believe that we are confident in many areas, an we hold the answers to the many questions, so we don't wonder as often. Perhaps then, the reason why we seem to 'lose' the ability to wonder is not do to fear, but the breadth of experience.
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