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Old 11-08-2006, 04:14 AM   #3 (permalink)
Michael Chui
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Default Self-Will is the mark of maturity

The desire to obey is one that is, in a way, forced on us. This is necessary, because rules do exist for a reason and not realizing this will undo a lot of historical solutions. I might be putting on my seatbelt because Mom said so, but there's a good reason for it. That's the strength of tradition and religion: it gives us guidelines without bothering us with the explanation. That's why children need to be inculcated with tradition and religion.

But that's for children. The mark of a mature mind is the ability to question, analyze, criticize, and best of all, come up with something better. Forget seatbelts; why not design inertial compensators in cars, so that there is never a risk a sudden stop sending you flying out the windshield?

This comes with a cost, of course, which is that if someone else isn't giving you the answers anymore, you're going to have to expend time and effort to find them yourself. And many times, it may indeed be wiser to let yourself be guided so that you don't reinvent the wheel unnecessarily. But you can't be sure until you're sure. It's a dilemma that can only be answered by experience or wisdom.
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