This week's prompt wants us to write about the questions we want to ask, or have asked or have been asked, etc etc.
Instead of putting more questions into the World (can you imagine how many question marks are floating above our heads as we keep asking and wondering and don't always get a satisfactory answer? - oops I just added one myself, inadvertedly)...I'd like to ponder solely about the questioning act in itself.
(I've just realised it's hard to ponder on something without opening the gate to a dozen more question marks!!)
There are many states of being: serenity, wonder, sadness, joy, worry...in reality many of these are emotions. Questioning is an unique state of being, incluing possibly doubt, curiosity, uncertainty, a mix of different emotions. There are many kinds of questioning, no doubt, but in common an expectancy of an answer from outside, from someone, from the future, from the Universe. We want to know, we create a connection with something else in the Universe, expecting a reply. In some ways, a question is a communion with the Universe, we give something from ourselves, our words and our views made into a sentence (or many). It is also inherently a human state of being. Animals don't ask questions, even if sometimes they look at us in a certain way.
I wonder if that little moment when our minds are formulating a question or that other one when our mouths are preparing to express it verbally can be physiologically explained and what this explanation would tell us (you see, I could've put this into a question too but I avoided it). Because it truly is a state like no other.
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16 comments:
I think you may be defining what it means to be human!
great thoughts on the subject!
Questioning things IS a very human quality indeed, NO??
to ask is the question, and also the answer. :)
It's one of my favourite things about people, or about certain people...even - that we keep asking questions, and keep learning.
Do you ever wonder if we all go through the same cycles of questions in our lives?
If only the Universe had a big book of Frequently Asked Questions...with all of the answers!
great food for thought that you've put forth for a ponder - i'll have to give it some more thought - i love these philosophical sort of observations!!!
I like your meditations on the bioenergetics of asking, DM.
Afraid I have to differ on the notion of the "un"-questioning animals. I've no doubt our blue heeler Blue is often asking me, "What? You want me to do what? Do you take me for a fool?" He may not be searching for deeper wisdom, but he sure as hell wants to know what's up with human (read: my) foolishness.
the riddle? the answer is 'no' as in answer to the last line 'can you guess the riddle?'. apparently, 97% of harvard graduates got this wrong. 84% of pre-school kids got it right!!!!
We only find answers when we ask questions..we tend to think our questions are dumb and that we should already know..therefore we tend not to ask enough questions.So more questions please!(unless you're a parent and the child in the back seat has asked "Are we Nearly there yet?" for the eight hundreth time!!
Some admirable searching there. Curiosity is the major thing, I think, that makes us human. But your identification of 'doubt' also holds importance.
Modern western philosophy was built on it, with Descartes Radical Doubt. Indeed, without doubt, we don't question - we just have belief.
I believe that we 'think' in images. Perhaps a question is a quest for a new image.
Granny Smith: I didn't intend to but the post lead me to that conclusion!
Lucy: Yes, Yes! ;o)
Vesper: Wow, I'll remember that next time ;)
Stephanie: That's a great idea, a World Faq. I think so, I think most people go through the same stages and questions but we might be a little bit original and ask slightly distinct questions...
Danni: Ah thanks, I didn't mean it to be very philosophical, but nothing else came out of my typing fingers. ;)
Murat: I hesitated on the animals part because I remember my dog staring at me with his head tilted (do you know that pose?) and I was quite sure he was questioning me. But logically I still don't think so. lol
Shadow: Oh, that's fantastic! You got me there. Thanks for telling me.
Niall: I agree, perhaps we should question more, kids do and that's how they learn. I thought the 'are we there yet?' was a Simpson exaggeration; does it really happen that often?
AnthonyNorth: Oh yes Radical Doubt! I think I need to read some philosophy again, almost forgot about that. Yes, doubt, essential.
Chrispito: You think so? Where's your Mercury? ;) I don't know, I think we don't all think the same way but I really like that idea of the quest for a new image.
What neat thoughts -- and yet I have a feeling you've only scratched the surface of this subject. I wonder what a philosopher would do with it.
Oh questions! Question everything, ask why. But who are we questioning ourselves or others?
Hmm, more questions have come from the post to be considered.
Hmm gone to think on this!
The question that is asked to draw another being into our circle of thought is the one I love the most. What do you think? How could that be? Really? The trick is to listen to the answers...the one thing we too often fail to do.
b
I'll agree with you regarding animals not asking questions, even though my dog always seems to be asking me to take her for a walk. I guess "begging" and "asking" are definitely two different things.
Susan HG: Yes, I'm not philosopher but I feel there must be a lot to say about the 'state of asking'.
FB: That was my problem while writing the post - I wanted to ask, ask, ask but I had forbidden myself to put more question marks into the world.
B: That's so true. It seems nobody listens to anyone anymore. And that's a very good kind of question!
Patois: Yes, I was sticking to the asking that means question. Because they sure beg :)
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