The Art of Questioning

Why do we question things? Or rather, why wouldn't we? In all the history of the world, there has always been someone who questions the status quo. And the obvious reason for this is that if we don't, we become stale, flattened out. There has to be always something that makes people wonder and thus ask questions. Even when a person is not very articulate, or is incapable of formulating coherent arguments, they should nonetheless ask questions.

Now, I question anything and everything, on the basis of challenging the assumptions that people have how things should be. And that goes for matters of philosophy, metaphysics, and even science. I don't subscribe to anything that is merely in the theoretical stage. So for example, I don't believe in a multiverse, or the simulation theory. I question even my own beliefs and ideas. Anything that is relative, is up for grabs. So basically, the entire universe.

You start with a question regarding any given topic. You flip it on its opposite. You flip it back and examine it carefully. Why should that be the question? How could it be different? What its implications are. You examine it from the outside. You look at it from all angles. You take it apart. You reassemble it differently. You answer it and see what it's results are. You change the question but keep the answer, you change the answer but keep the question. You take them both off and you end up questioning the question itself. Why are people suggesting that must be the question?

You're starting to lose it. You ponder the ramifications, its premise, the conclusions, the possibilities and before you know it you find yourself walking from the store having no memory of going there in the first place. Do I even recall what the original question was? Ah, yes.

And this way of challenging all things, whatever they are, is in my opinion essential this day and age. So many people do not seem to do this, instead they are too busy going from point A to point B. And so it goes. And as a result of this non-questioning, we wonder when certain craziness in the world takes place. The fact that they do take place is symptomatic of the kind of society where we live, in which we don't take the time to allow ourselves to reflect on things enough. Because if we did, we would be more aware of our own actions towards that society.

Furthermore, my entire notion in writing these articles is not only that I enjoy talking about the subject matter, it's to “jolt” people into the possibility that there might something more than a single line of sight to anything. I'm not trying to make anyone over, other than point towards the myriads of potentialities outside the accepted norms. And that is why I often make the point, that one shouldn't take anything I say seriously, only sincerely. Because I'm sincere in writings them, but I don't take them seriously myself, that is to say, I don't settle for anything I say.

I may say something contradictory, or paradoxical. Part of it is because of the way our language limits the processes outside itself. But also, because I use opposites or contradictions as a method, to ask the question: “How seriously do you want to take this thing?” And lastly, because I'm batcrap insane. But I've found a way to sound as if I was making sense, but in a certain sense, I'm not really making any sense. I merely ask questions.

One of my favourite questions is “Who am I?” And this question, is probably closest to what I would consider to be the ultimate question. It asks really, who are you behind all your social labels, statuses, positions, and views, that witnesses all that's going on. People seem to not do this very often. And that fascinates me. As said, I question absolutely everything. Because I believe that once we stop asking questions, in a way we've given up.

Now, you don't need to have a degree to ask questions. Even little kids ask them all the time. But it seems that the older we get, the less we ask questions. And I think it's a good time to remind people that finding that inner wonder that we used to have as children, is paramount to questioning the system. If we don't wonder, it's as if we became the sort of people depicted in the most ghastly dystopian science fiction novels. Where everyone is just going in lines, to the office, obediently.

Now, my assumption is that if you're reading this article in the first place, you must have some kind of idea that things generally are not what they ought to be. We wouldn't question things if they were perfect. So I have within my power now, to make a difference to the reader. So I would say, just keep asking. Until you find a peace of mind in the midst of chaos. We ask questions because deep down, we know that things aren't what they appear to be.

But some people takes this to the extreme, where they think everyone is out to get them. They're overly paranoid, and so they tend to dip into the conspiracy forums and things of that nature. And I know this because I'm speaking from experience. I used to take part in a rather popular forum of this kind. And what I learned in the end, as my best friend put it, is that the only true conspiracy on this Earth is human greed, and that explains 99% of all conspiracies.

We all want to know the truth. And I could go into the personal discovery where I even questioned the truth itself, and what the universe really is, and our place in it. But I'm choosing to leave that as a separate post, because it is quite a tale. And as it is said, the truth has a way of always making its way into the light. So never give up, and always question the system. That is all I wanted to say.

T.F.