The Blind Man and the Elephant
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant~(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation~Might satisfy his mind.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, ~ At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant ~ Is very like a wall!"
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! what have we here?
So very round and smooth and sharp? ~ To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant ~ Is very like a spear!"
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands, ~ Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like ~ Is mighty plain," quoth her;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant ~ Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most; ~ Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant ~ Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail ~ That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a rope!
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion ~ Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right ~ And all were in the wrong!
Moral
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
-John Godfrey Saxe
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialStd/grade7/india/Blind_elephant.html
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For some reason, this story was running through my mind the whole time Professor DeVitto was making the orange analogy on Tuesday. I'm sure most of you have come across this story at least once. If not, you've probably heard this type of reasoning when it comes to taking in other people's point of views.
Whenever I'm considering a point, I have to remind myself to take in the whole picture because most of the time what I might have is the "trunk of the elephant", which I might consider to be the truth. At the same time, someone else may have their truth in the "elephant's tail". Basically, everyone is spending so much time trying so hard to force their own truths on others, and not enough time listening to anyone else. I believe we all possess a little bit of the truth, but we just see it from different perspectives, which is what this anecdote illustrates.
Your thoughts?
2 comments:
Too true. All too often people hold to their preconceptions without giving other perspectives a chance. I guess the best way to broaden one's own scope is to consider all possibilities. In this example, the guy with the tail could hear the guy with the tusks and think "I KNOW an elephant is like a rope, but somebody is able to see this as a spear. Maybe there is some facet of this beast that is like a spear, I just haven't felt it yet." Afterward, he should begin investigating the other man's claim. At least that's the way I see it.
Yeah, the 'the blind man and the elephant' story...I love it!
Let me just add this: what if I changed the story a little bit and added someone who wasn't blind to the room but was mute? How would that change the notion of the relative concept that everyone has a truth I wonder? I say I wonder because I've never thought about it till now.
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