Friday 9 March 2012

How to Keep Your Brain With You

Today I came across the following on my friend Stephy's Facebook page which I think sums up what I mean by Don't Leave Your Brain at the Door:

Bertrand Russell’s 10 commandments for 
teachers
 everyone with a brain

The Ten Commandments that, as a teacher, I should wish to promulgate, might be set forth as follows:
  1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
  2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
  3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
  4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
  5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
  6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
  7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
  8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent that in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
  9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
  10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.


In my opinion a good place to start using these rules is in Church and when you read the Bible - you'd be surprised what wonders and truths are to found in the Bible if you just approach it with an open mind.

1 comment:

serena said...

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."

I like that one a LOT!