On Thought, Reason and Knowledge
"No obstacle can resist the power of reason," said Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor and philosopher. Albert Einstein's "one cannot achieve anything unless one pushes the limits of reason" and Chinese writer and linguist Lin Yutang's "a wise man reads both books and life directly" are beautiful and pithy words that immediately come to my mind as short examples of reason, thinking and knowledge.
"No obstacle can resist the power of reason," said Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor and philosopher. Albert Einstein's "one cannot achieve anything unless one pushes the limits of reason" and Chinese writer and linguist Lin Yutang's "a wise man reads both books and life directly" are beautiful and pithy words that immediately come to my mind as short examples of reason, thinking and knowledge.
Speaking of intellect and thinking, I think it would be useful to write down Socrates' statement "I am wiser than other people because I know what I do not know". Some bodily powers and dynamics endowed to human beings shape our lives. At times, they also direct it. These are core values and concepts. They actively enable us to get things done. As long as they are at the forefront of our lives, they lead us to peace, truth, well-being, being more sensitive and contributing to the level and culture of humanity.
The first two of these powers are thinking with Reason and understanding with Knowledge. I think I can explain this better with an example that came to my mind while writing these lines. An elderly aunt is trying to cross the street at a point where there is no light in a traffic jam. Her situation is difficult and the traffic is difficult. Let us immediately direct our minds to her situation. Let's empathize. We can either walk to the lights or stop the vehicles with a signal to get her across, at least that's the first thing that comes to my mind.
Christopher Columbus examined a myriad of information, believed that the world was round and went to work, using his mind to achieve the unbelievable. Don't we evaluate the information about a book or a movie that has won many awards in our minds, think about it and decide to see the movie or read the book?
What is called "intellect" is the most valuable treasure, a spiritual force. It is the source of the power of thinking, knowing, learning, determining behavior, controlling, judging and distinguishing. We can distinguish between good and evil, beautiful and ugly only by using our intellect. Reason guides us to act in a correct and logical manner, in accordance with conscience. It gives us the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, and to reason. With his intellect, man has created a world of culture by making his environment and all of nature habitable. In this sense, man is a being who knows, finds, makes knowledge, believes, creates art, learns and teaches, has language and passes on his cultural accumulation from generation to generation.
This power derives its accumulation from reason. Knowledge also stores power. Every new knowledge is used in the work of the mind, in making sense of events. When used correctly, positive results are inevitable. The mind is not static, thinking develops through experience and training. However, we need to evaluate our experiences correctly, train correctly and get results.
At this point, thought comes into play. Thought is the flashlight of the mind, the pointer of the right path. Thought has a separate power and energy. A person who cannot use his intellectual power cannot use and direct his mind correctly. I think thought is like an electric current. It makes us find the scientific facts in our lives and the Universe tirelessly. Thinking should be done in accordance with the rules of reason and logic.
Logic is a term in philosophy. It shows us humans the virtue of asking questions. We can also call it a discipline that examines the principles of correct thinking. It deals with the right way of thinking. To think is to exercise the mind, to draw the right conclusions from events, to find the unknown. For humanity to reach peace and tranquility, it is necessary to find the unknown!
The human mind develops by questioning, thinking, drawing conclusions and doing so in a logical order. In other words, thinking is done with reason and logic. When reason and logic are hand in hand and in harmony, the right results emerge. To think is to exercise our mind. As the mind works and continuously develops, "Understanding" or awareness also develops with the new information obtained. Depth is gained. While thinking, it takes time to learn to overcome the negative whispers that come to our ears. Achieving this makes one more peaceful, serene and happy! It is that voice that whispers gossip, lies, jealousy and condemnation.
Thinking leads us to new truths. Until today, only those who think, work and sweat have found useful knowledge and results for humanity. Like Newton, Edison, our famous mathematician Cahit Arf. Ibn-i Sina, the sultan of doctors, or Atatürk, the founder of our Republic.
All these names and many more have spent a lifetime thinking and working to reach the summit of knowledge and thought, which is the most meaningful of human goals, and humanity will never forget these names, regardless of nationality.
It is my wish that our younger generations will also produce esteemed thinkers for our country and humanity and will be remembered with respect. Therefore, as a nation, we must "think with reason and understand with knowledge!"
With respect and love.
