When looking for a place to start, it’s been said the beginning is the best place to look first. As the first post on Know Nothing it then makes sense to write about the start of this blog. And any good beginning starts by giving you a sense of what you’re in for.
This is a place for truth. I don’t claim to know it, hence the title, but it’s what’s at the center of every post on this blog. This is a place for ideas. For debate. For arguments. And at the foundation of any such conversation there must be one shared principle – That both parties are ultimately seeking the same thing. Truth. I want to know what is. What is true. What is false. It’s a desire I like to believe is shared by all. I don’t care if I’m right or wrong. I just want to know what reality is. If that means one of my cherished beliefs turns out to be wrong then all the better. At the very least I will be one step closer to the truth for no longer believing something that is false.
After meeting with the Oracle at Delphi, Socrates was told that he was the wisest man in all of Athens. Shocked, he humbly began to question those of whom he thought, for sure, were wiser than himself. In the end he concluded that indeed he was the wisest man in Athens. Not because he possessed some great knowledge or understanding. For in fact, he considered himself far from wise. But in one respect he found he did surpass his peers. For they thought that they knew much and were wise yet in actuality knew little and were not wise. Yet Socrates, while not knowing much and not being wise, at least knew that he knew nothing.
I don’t claim to know anything. I don’t claim to be wise. In fact, I know I am far from the most knowledgeable person in the room or the most experienced and wise. I simply claim to be a seeker of truth, no matter the peak or valley it may be found in. Hopefully this blog can be a place where, together, we can gain knowledge, and wisdom as we take a few steps closer to the truth. Topics will range from current affairs to religion to philosophy and most of what is considered not polite table conversation. Well, I think those are just the sorts of things one should talk about over dinner with loved ones. So pull up a chair and let’s dig in.
