Elephant Principle - Great Philosophers Search for God

The Elephant Principle and the Great Philosophers Search for God.

What did the great philosophers of the past think about the idea of God? Many of the great musicians, scientists, and leaders in history professed some belief in an all-powerful God. What about the great thinkers of philosophy? Just as in science, music, the arts, and culture, there are a large number of respected philosophers who made clear statements about their faith. Some expressed strong belief. Some expressed doubt. Others just asked questions. Looking at some of historys most famous philosophers provides a great deal of insight into the perception of God in the world of philosophy.

Randall Niles looks at the ancient story of the Blind Men and their Limited Perspective of God.

The Blind Men and the Elephant --
John Godfrey Saxe's (1816-1887) version of the famous Indian legend:

It was six men of Indostan,
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 approach'd 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 approach'd 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 he,-
"'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,
Then, 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!

***

Please visit http://www.AllAboutPhilosophy.org/great-philosophers.htm to see how the great philosophers of the past reconciled their ideas of God.

Also, go to http://www.RandallNiles.com/videos.htm to watch more videos presenting the Elephant Principle and other illustrations of God and religion!

Category:

Education

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• Elephant Principle
• Blind Men
• Saxe
• Indian Philosopy
• Great Philosophers
• Illustrations of God
• Comparative Religions
• Belief Systems
• God
• Philosophy
• Randall Niles
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• Video

[tOgOLese4LiFe]

Yahweh

[xIxGLOWx]

This is a very interesting way of putting things :)

[braino2000]

That's a very interesting way of putting it! Thank you for sharing... It just gets frustrating when people think that science will always find the truth. Science isn't the truth, it's the TRUTH about the natural world. People fail to understand that too much.

[dovad16]

I liked your presentation of this. It serves to illlustrate also why we should be slow to discount another person's perception of God. Thanks for the video.

[Gaara1972]

Yes you are correct, however the real problem lies in gaining that sight. So for the time being we are all blind and through our respective parts of the elephant we are all right.