How Questions Endanger Our Peace Of Mind
Questions are dangerous to our peace of mind.
What is my purpose? Why did God decide to create anything in the first place? It’s not like he needs our help for anything. Most vexing for me: how can we know what is true?
The most thought-provoking questions have no satisfactory answers, so they incessantly bombard our thoughts. It is frustrating to ponder these issues and know their answers are probably out of reach. We all love closure, certainty and understanding, but these questions rob us of such comforts.
Deeply unsettled by these enigmas for the rest of our lives, what are we to do? Are we doomed to a life of questions without answers? Then again, why must we interpret this as doom? Why are such questions “dangerous?” Perhaps the disturbance these questions produce is entirely necessary and useful.
The “doom” of impossible questions keeps life relevant. By questioning the world, we give life depth; and we confront challenging philosophies. There is no standard procedure or scientific method to discern answers to these difficult questions—I checked. Based on my own experiences, I developed a possible model: acknowledge, debate, revise, and repeat.
We should always acknowledge the philosophical issues we encounter and spend time contemplating our position. Obviously they are matters of serious value; so if we ignore these questions, we are left with nagging feelings of unfinished business.
We should then discuss and debate our ideas and beliefs with others. Not only does this comfort us because we know we are not alone with such overwhelming concepts, but it also helps us recognize the flaws in our hypotheses and revise them if necessary. Altering our positions on topics is similar to refining precious metals; each time the process is repeated, the metals become more pure. Just so, repeating this process of thought and debate can help us discover more of the truth.
It is impossible to waltz through life without being vexed by some significant philosophical question. However, if we acknowledge the existence of the question – and consider and debate the issue in a meaningful, thoughtful, and organized fashion – we may achieve levels of understanding and peace with which we can live.
