“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
This quote from Socrates is something that is hard for me to grasp. I enjoy learning. It is something that most of the time comes easy to me. It probably stems from my time as a child and the many, MANY mornings that I woke up hours before school started; I have never had an easy time sleeping. This time for me was spent routinely doing one thing. Every morning I watched SportsCenter for 2-3 hours straight. I knew stats and scores like they were my own. I loved it when my friends at Hardin Valley Elementary would ask me questions and I could respond with the facts that I had gotten each morning. I enjoyed having all of the answers.
The world has changed since then and while scores and stats are still easy to see as facts, we live in a world largely comprised of "hot takes" and opinions meant to grab your attention and pull on the emotions that lie deep within us. There are still many answers out there. Truth is still dancing all around us but it takes effort, and in the age of social media, it is just easier to read a tweet or a couple of sentences on Facebook. Reading books for gaining knowledge seems to have become a lost art. It is time consuming and takes concentration, effort, and quiet. These are counterintuitive to the culture that we inhabit which encourages us to go, go, go all of the time.
However, knowledge is only as good as how it is used. Attitude is everything and it is the one thing that you can control in all situations. This continues in the ways that you learn, think, and spread knowledge. This is a process that I am continually having to experience and take very carefully. My intellect is probably my greatest strength, but it can also be a tremendous weakness.
Humble Argumentation
Humble learning is an attitude that I think should guide us into the future. I believe that it is the only way to adequately gain and spread knowledge in a healthy way that is beneficial for the common good. There is a common phenomenon that I have begun to observe pertaining to the way that we interact with knowledge in regard to conversations with one another and it is disheartening. The way that arguments take place in our culture have become a Battle Royale, where there is only one winner and a multitude of losers that are left feeling worse off than they started and have a resentment for the knowledge that has just been dumped on them.
This way of arguing is very flawed and centered upon knowledge conquering knowledge rather than the idea that knowledge can be gained from both sides in order to cultivate heightened awareness and greater understanding of the world around us. Truthfully, as Socrates stated in the quote above, we must come to the field of argumentation with an understanding that the amount of knowledge that we have is so minuscule that seeking to win is futile and should not be pursued. However, we should come with an attitude of gratitude and humility, knowing that what we have is grace and that we can obtain new knowledge regardless of the situation.
Listen More
Truthfully, a lot of the problems that we have in our discourse today come from our inability to adequately listen. This is one aspect that greatly influences our interactions with one another and on the web in whatever format you may use, there is no form of listening involved. Facebook, Twitter, or other online forums have no listening feature when arguing with someone. So, when an argument occurs in the real world, we do not listen. Instead, we sit there plotting our next punch, hoping that it might be a devastating blow to a conceding opponent.
Listening is so important. It forces us to step back and sit in someone else's shoes. Real listening does at least. This listening is one that is not waiting for an opening to fill the void left by silence between sentences. This listening gently waits, contemplating the matters at hand, allowing for knowledge to be transferred and gained, for truth to be better illuminated. Listening allows for us to take a backseat to our own ego and for someone else to take the spotlight for a moment. We are no longer the center of attention, whether we agree or not.
Attitude and Effort
In life, I believe that there are two things that you can universally control: attitude and effort. I believe that these greatly apply when it comes down to discourse and learning. Our attitude must be one of humility and our effort in doing so is found in our ability to listen. You have to set out to listen. It is not something that is easily accomplished, but it can be.
A few weeks ago, as I was walking on the beach thinking about a book that I have been reading (Humility is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age by Dr. Edward D. Hess and Katherine Ludwig), I was convicted of my constant longing to be right. I realized that this longing is not something that is profitable, as failure is in most cases the best teacher that life has to offer. In our wrongs we find a new way, one that leads to truth. I have always found it funny where truth presents itself most clearly, like a business book talking about the Smart Machine Age, but God has a funny way of showing up in our distracted lives.
This is the journey I am on at the moment, one that is not seeking to be right, but rather seeking to learn. I am fascinated by the ways that we interact with one another and with the knowledge that is available to us. I hope that I can do so humbly and I pray that you join me.