Be a trained thinker

As I glance through my window for a moment I see fishermen patiently sitting in their boats. Some power-driven boats are coming home passing the estuary. The Bolgoda River flows majestically, unmindful of all the problems people go through in their daily lives. A flight of swallows passes across the sky heavily veiled by dark clouds. I think of the day the tsunami hit our shores. But the river protected us by taking the sea water in an upward direction without allowing our homes to go under water.

I remember what happened during the World War II although I was only a little brat then. We used to look at the sky in awe to check whether Japanese planes were coming with their deadly bombs. Luckily we were relatively safe except for a few incidents. In my adult life I learned various theories about life and its unpredictable nature. Philosophers gave me a tough time, sometimes reducing the whole universe into a microcosm. Then I tried to understand the position of man in the universe. At last, I understood that the mind is trying to understand and take possession of everything that it comes across.

Then my image of the world kept on changing.

When the microcosm and the macrocosm are perpetually moving, we get confused at times. We try to understand life by studying various subjects such as psychology, philosophy and religion. Our desire to think clearly is foremost in our minds. But this is not an easy task. We are constantly at the mercy of nature. We fall ill - physically and mentally as well. Sometimes we never recover fully even after spending a fortune on various types of treatment - from allopathy, homoeopathy to acupuncture. They say science has made vast strides but patients are suffering in every nook and corner.

Philosopher Descartes

With all these problems, man has not stopped thinking. You and I want to get out of this rut, but we do not know how to do it. Some philosophers such as Pascal say that we must make an effort to think correctly. However, what do they mean by correct thinking? When we sincerely believe that we are thinking correctly, somebody will point out that we are on the wrong path. If you listen to ten preachers, you will hear ten different views. Variety is good, but they confuse us. Then we try meditation or yoga to control our minds. Again we are bombarded with new theories of salvation and emancipation.

Logic has taught us the value of reasoning. However, does an artist start reasoning before he makes a sketch or painting? What happens is that he begins to think with his body and his body and the mind become one entity.

The same process takes place in a dancer. The dancer does not reason out before dancing. He or she simply dances. And the dancer becomes the dance!

If you throw a stone or other missile at a herd of cattle, the animals will run away with the others not knowing where they are going. You might call it herd instinct. But when a bomb explodes, people run away from the scene to save their lives. Aren't we like animals? We also have a kind of herd instinct which prevents us from thinking.

While manual workers think with their bodies, white collar workers think with their words, sounds, and letters. They find it easy to control themselves. Although those who think with their bodies find their limitations quite early in life, those who think with their words, sounds and letters mould the civilisation. They are usually credited with inventions, discoveries and theories that change our lives. A simple example would suffice for us to draw a distinction between "Body thinkers" and "Mind thinkers".

A manual worker and a professor of philosophy go into a hotel and order a cup of tea. The manual worker would gulp down the cup of tea, pay the bill and walk out of the hotel. However, the professor would think how tea was produced at great cost to factory owners and how sugar was imported from a distant country. While taking a sip he would also think of the thousands of workers employed in tea estates and how they work under trying conditions.

This brings us to the conclusion that those who think with their bodies will never be able to change the world. It is those who think with their minds who have always changed the world for better or for worse. Alfred Nobel, Marie Curie, and Thomas Alva Edison have made human life easy and bearable with their inventions. Columbus' discovery of America opened a new world to us. Those who use their heads resourcefully know how to change the world.

Napoleon Bonaparte moved armies across foreign lands. Bertrand Russell taught us how to think logically and accurately.

There is, however, a danger posed by trained thinkers who can prove anything with their powers of reasoning. It is usual for philosophers and scientists to differ on vital points. Then where do we stand? Philosopher Descartes tells us how to differentiate between the truth and falsehood. According to his Cartesian method, we must accept a thing only when one clearly recognizes it as such. He also warns us to be careful to avoid haste and prejudice.

Nobody can study the Cartesian method and become clear thinkers overnight.

However, until you learn it well, be modest to admit that you do not know the answer to certain questions. The problem is that how many of us are willing to say, "I don't know"? Most of us want to impress others with our knowledge and go on making faulty pronouncements. At the height of the war an Opposition MP mixed up Kilinochchi and Medawachchi! Before opening his mouth, he should have looked at a map of Sri Lanka.

We need trained thinkers in every field of human activity. Passing examinations and gathering facts will not take you anywhere unless you are able to think for yourself. When you cannot think for yourself, others will try to lead you by the nose. The present situation in the country is a case in point. Most workers are unable to think for themselves. So, they have delegated their decision-making power to others who can think and fish in troubled waters! Those who can think for themselves are trained thinkers who will change the world.