Word
Gems
What is a
man but the sum of his thoughts?
- Truth:
Paul
Johnson
Paul Johnson, Enemies of Society:
"...truth is much more than a means to expose the malevolent. It is
the great creative force of civilization. For truth is knowledge; and a civilized man is
one who, in Hobbes' words, has a 'perseverance of delight in the continual and
indefatigable generation of knowledge.' Hobbes also writes: 'Joy, arising from imagination
of a man's own power and ability, is that exaltation of mind called glorying.' And so it
is; for the pursuit of truth is our civilization's glory, and the joy we obtain
from it is the nearest we shall approach to happiness, at least on this side of the grave.
If we are steadfast in this aim, we need not fear the enemies of society.
"The essence of civilization is the orderly quest for truth,
the rational perception of reality and all its facets, and the adaptation of man's
behaviour to its laws. So long as we follow the path of reason we shall not move far from
the lighted circle of civilization. Its enemies invariably lie among
those who, for whatever motive, deny, distort, minimize, exaggerate or poison the truth,
and who falsify the processes of reason. At all times civilization has its enemies, though
they are constantly changing their guise and their weapons. The great defensive art is to
detect and unmask them before the damage they inflict becomes fatal. 'Hell.' wrote
Thomas Hobbes, 'is truth seen too late.' Survival is falsehood detected in time.
"Civilization... is the rational pursuit of truth within a framework of order.
The discovery of truth, of course, is part of this ordering process, the way by which man
located himself in the universe. This is a very long, complicated and cumulative process.
Man needs to orientate himself in time, by discovering and perfecting chronology; in
space, by acquiring geographical and astronomical knowledge; in nature, by discovering its
laws and using them to master his environment. He is also engaged in a continuous effort
of moral and social orientation, reflected in his attempts to improve his designs for
civil government, for legal and ethical codes, and his image of what a just society should
be. There is, likewise, a process of moral ordering, in which man seeks to discover his
worth in relation to other men, and to the potentialities of his surroundings. Human
beings need to know where they stand in all these matters, for such knowledge is
an essential element in their security, and... their happiness..."
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