polymath
Bluelight Crew
In the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach tells a story about a seagull who is interested in flying high, unlike other seagulls who see their flying ability just as an instrumental value, an ability that makes finding food easier.
We humans can't fly, but we have the gift of intelligence far greater than any other living being on earth. Like the seagulls use their flying ability, most people use their intellect only as a tool that makes it easier to do their everyday work and afford their everyday (boring) life.
Then again there are people who see intellectual thought as an intrinsic value, 'end in itself'. These people are the 'philosophers', who want to find the ultimate truth instead of just concentrating on everyday mundane matters. Only a small percentage of people belong to this group, the rest don't have the intuitive ability to grasp philosophical questions.
What is the reason that only some rare people are 'philosophers'? Also, why do some people with the ability for high-flying imagination become monstrous personalities like Adolf Hitler or the terrorists Unabomber and Anders Breivik, instead of creating something positive?
We humans can't fly, but we have the gift of intelligence far greater than any other living being on earth. Like the seagulls use their flying ability, most people use their intellect only as a tool that makes it easier to do their everyday work and afford their everyday (boring) life.
Then again there are people who see intellectual thought as an intrinsic value, 'end in itself'. These people are the 'philosophers', who want to find the ultimate truth instead of just concentrating on everyday mundane matters. Only a small percentage of people belong to this group, the rest don't have the intuitive ability to grasp philosophical questions.
What is the reason that only some rare people are 'philosophers'? Also, why do some people with the ability for high-flying imagination become monstrous personalities like Adolf Hitler or the terrorists Unabomber and Anders Breivik, instead of creating something positive?