I have a question. Well, I guess it's not really a question but...okay, a question. So I've been blogging for a little over a year now and there have been times where I've written or read posts with these deep philosophical questions. It's always kind of fun to discuss them, but even more than fun, it's really frustrating. I guess what I'm wondering is...from the opinion of those who have been blogging far longer than I have, what is the value of asking questions with no answers? What is the value in discussing them? Doesn't it just create further frustration? I find myself sometimes unable to sleep at night because all these philosophical things are bothering me so much. And the more I discuss them, the more they're on my mind. And I guess I like having them on my mind, but it's so frustrating to work and work and work at them and never go anywhere but in circles. Where do these questions lead? What becomes of them? What is their value? What is the good in talking about them if we can get nowhere? How can we find answers that will satisfy us enough to move on? Or are we not supposed to move on? Are we supposed to try to find answers, or are the discussions themselves worth enough?
And the weird thing is, I keep thinking that if, somehow, we did find answers, they would be completely unsatisfying - almost anticlimactic to the intense discussions that surround the questions. So do we really want answers, or do we want discussions? But discussions that lead nowhere? Or do they really lead somewhere?
I'm not even quite sure what I'm asking. It's just been bothering me.
The fact is, some questions will just never be answered. That does not change the point though. There is no such thing as a bad question.
ReplyDeleteQuestions are not important in that they lead us to answers, but that they lead to introspection. If you never asked the question it means you never thought about the topic, or never thought it was worth discussing.
If you are involved in an activity but have no reason for, or knowledge of, why you are doing it, then you never really accomplished anything. There is never any purpose to being a sheep. Maybe the questions are hard, maybe they have no answers, but if you are coming from a position of true wonderment and intellectual curiosity then the introspection is the truest form of hishtadlus.
Its very easy to have emunah when it is driven into you, but where is the test there? If there was any real definition of emunah, it would be faith DESPITE certain rational doubts. It would be an emunah that you came to terms with on a personal basis. And if the issue is not one of faith, but of potentially unanswerable questions regarding society or such, then the discourse may at least lead to a better understanding of views that are contrary to your own. Or perhaps even slight gains that may not be complete answers.
Questions are always worth asking. Heck, the fact that they can make you uncomfortable is the clearest indicator that you are asking the right questions in the first place.
Dbl what Tzvi said, just to addL
ReplyDeleteDo you know that if you don't ask questions you are basically abandoning the core of the Jewish tradition?