I’m thoroughly enjoying Rob Paterson’s bold series of posts on the theme The Great Return.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Well illustrated forthright, thought-provoking and wise.
I was struck by this observation in Part 2
The book over experience is a particularly dangerous idea. Julian Jaynes has made the case that when we learned to write we also lost our connection to the intuitive. Over time reason triumphed over innate understanding. In short, as we became enthralled with our intellect, we became clever but lost our wisdom. So today mothers worry about child rearing, read many books, but are closed to their innate wisdom.
Rob’s not repudiating reason and rationality, but he’s putting it in its place. This really resonates with me, and it’s why one of my favourites phrases is “the tyranny of the explicit”. In fact, I’m tempted to write a book with that title (which would be nicely ironic).
If you’ve got time, check out what Rob’s written. I think it’s awesome.
