Wisdom in 20 minutes🙂

Once in a while, something appears unexpectedly that is so good, you want to share it. This is one of those things.

Do you have “radical integrity”❓

A friend shared ‘Are you one of them?’ with me.

As it unfolded, I felt a growing admiration for the creator of this video and the message it delivers from the mind of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

The ‘life lens’ idea, which I write about in The MINDVERSE Hypothesis, is a powerful concept to explain some of the questions posed in those film. The power of propaganda is one example, and the irrational belief in something that is anything but rational held, is another.

The Theory of Stupidity was a poor choice of name chosen by Bonhoeffer, in my opinion. If implies that people who hold “stupid” beliefs are victims of an inherent character flaw - that of ‘stupidity’. Rather, individuals persons hold most of their ideas through the collection and distillation of many ideas encountered throughout life. Since each life is entirely unique in every way, it should be of no surprise that each person will possess an entirely unique ‘life lens’.

To call someone stupid is to acknowledge that the other does not hold your views. Put in another context, they cannot fully understand your life lens, or you theirs. Perception is relative to your life experience. The same holds true for each person.

Independent moral judgement is discussed in the video. How do you define “moral judgement”? Is morality determined by others in a ‘official capacity such as a university professor or church theologian, or is it acceptable for each individual person to define it according to his or her conscience? To what extent is your life lens shaped by your personal life lessons learned through trial and error, as opposed to knowledge you may has acquired from teachers or Bible studies, for example?

I have the same struggle with the word ‘truth’. Many people seem to think the objective truths exist, but when challenged, they fail under careful scrutiny of cannot be verified. As such, they become under as relative truths.

Fear, of course, plays a vital role in motivating our beliefs. To express a “truth” in the wrong social settings can be risky. To remain silent in the same setting can lead to suspicion by others that you may hold radical ideas. Even to hold “unacceptable’ private thoughts can make one uncomfortable lest someone discovers them.

Watch and listen for the 20 minutes it takes to absorb the entire message of the video. Adopt a Philosophical state of mind as you do so to get the full impact of this gem.