In Conversation With
Zhou Guoping : Every Child Is a Natural Born Philosopher
In his Pensées , French mathematician , philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal wrote : “ Man is but a reed , the weakest thing in nature , but he is a thinking reed . There is no need for the whole universe to take up arms to crush him : a vapour , a drop of water is enough to kill him . But even if the universe were to crush him , man would still be nobler than his slayer .”
Pascal believed that man is both noble and feeble . Man is noble by his thought and is noble enough to know his feebleness and nobleness . The universe can crush him . But , man can think , which is something that no force can crush . In a sense , it is the greatness of the mind that has achieved the greatness of man .
Socrates suggested that all things must be questioned and verified , and that thinking has no boundaries . To philosopher and scholar Zhou Guoping , we should all subject ourselves to thinking in search of genuine knowledge and the truth . It is a mountain , he says , and the only way to get close to it is by walking towards it . What can truly teach us how to think is precisely thinking itself . It may not teach us how to live , he offers , but it will let us understand what one should live for .
“ Where is the end of time ?” “ What is on top of the clouds ?” “ Can time stop ?” “ Is there another me in the world ?”
At last September ’ s education salon On Keeping a Philosophical Mind , Zhou Guoping delighted us with tales of his young daughter ’ s questions in dialogue with her father philosopher . As they grow up , children ask searching questions . They do so out of pure curiosity about the world . “ The natural curiosity that children have for the great questions and puzzles of life leads them to start asking philosophical questions from an early age ,” said Zhou Guoping . Such curiosity is a precursor to rational awakening . We adults must be alert to this , and listen carefully to these junior philosophers .
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