Being Less Wrong Requires a Certain Kind of Courage

I will be a little loose with my language here.

I sometimes wonder if any philosopher has had a wise thought yet.

Regardless of ones religious inclinations, atheist or Christian or Buddhist or what have you, it seems that we have to conclude that at least one religion is false. Imagine an old man, a cleric of that religion, who has dedicated his life to his faith. He had spent countless years in service, made innumerable sacrifices, and all for nought. If he is to be less wrong he must be willing to admit the terrible truth that he has wasted his life. He has to be brave enough to face the fact that his life has been dedicated to foolishness. I suppose we could make similar analogies when we consider scientists who spent their lives trying to prove false ideas.

What if that's us? What if that's our species? What if we haven't even begun to learn? What we're philosophical toddlers?

And I'm not saying we are. I don't have any good reasons to think one way or another. But if we are too frightened to consider the possibility, we'll never know. Perhaps wisdom requires us to entertain the possibility.

And if you fear you have wasted your life, don't sweat it. Maybe we all have, or none of us have, or there's no such thing. I certainly don't think less of you.