PHILOSOPHY (BLIND MEN ELEPHANT)
1. what did you notice from the picture?
2. did anyone get the correct answer? Why or why not?
3. What does this picture imply about our efforts to understand the realities of life or answer our perennial problems?
Answers
Answer:
The parable of the blind men and an elephant originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has been widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.[1][2]
Blind men and the elephant.
Blind Men Appraising an Elephant by Ohara Donshu, Edo Period (early 19th century), Brooklyn Museum
The Buddhist text Udana 6.4,[3] contains one of the earliest versions of the story. It is dated to around c. 500 BCE, during the lifetime of the Buddha, although the parable is likely older than the Buddhist text.[4][better source needed]
An alternate version of the parable describes sighted men, experiencing a large statue on a dark night, or feeling a large object while being blindfolded. They then describe what it is they have experienced. In its various versions, it is a parable that has crossed between many religious traditions and is part of Jain, Hindu and Buddhist texts of 1st millennium CE or before.[5][4] The story also appears in 2nd millennium Sufi and Baháʼí Faith lore. The tale later became well known in Europe, with 19th century American poet John Godfrey Saxe creating his own version as a poem, with a final verse that explains that the elephant is a metaphor for God, and the various blind men represent religions that disagree on something no one has fully experienced.[6] The story has been published in many books for adults and children, and interpreted in a variety of ways
Answer:
(a) The ancient Indian subcontinent is where the fable of the blind men and the elephant first appeared. Since then, it has spread extensively. It tells the tale of a group of blind men who, having never before encountered an elephant, learn and come to understand what an elephant is like by touching one. Only one aspect of the elephant's body—such as the side of the tusk—can be felt by each blind person. The elephant is then described by them, each of whom gives a distinct account based on their limited experience. In some of the stories, people start to suspect the other person is lying, and they start fighting. The lesson of the story is that individuals often assert absolute truth based on their own limited, subjective experiences while ignoring the limited, subjective experiences of others that may also be true.
(b) The elephant and the blind man.
Early 19th-century Edo Period painting by Ohara Donshu, "Blind Men Appraising an Elephant," Brooklyn Museum
One of the earliest known versions of the narrative is found in the Buddhist scripture Udana 6.4. The story is believed to be older than the Buddhist scripture, which is believed to have been written approximately 500 BCE, during the reign of the Buddha.
(c) Another version of the fable talks about seeing men, a big statue in the dark, or feeling a big thing while blindfolded. Then they go on to explain what they have gone through. It is a fable that has appeared in a variety of religious books from the first millennium, including Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist scriptures. The tale also appears in Sufi and Bahá' faith lore from the second millennium. The story later gained popularity in Europe after being adapted into a poem by American poet John Godfrey Saxe in the 19th century. The poem's concluding verse explains that the elephant is a metaphor for God and that the different blind men are representations of religions that disagree on a concept that no one has fully experienced.
#SPJ3