The philosophy professor grinned as...
Illustration
The philosophy professor grinned as he ripped off one of his favorite lines. "In the equations of life, one reality outweighs an infinite number of false suppositions." Several students yawned in response.
"You don't believe me?" said the old man. "All right, I'll put some flesh on it. Take Abraham. Six times he asked God to 'suppose' things weren't all that bad in Sodom and Gomorrah. Patient God! God said, 'All right, I'll suppose.' And what happened in the end? You know what happened in the end. WHAM! Those suppositions weren't worth a hoot. It was the reality that counted."
The students barely stirred.
"All right, I'll try once more," said the old man. "Take two suppositions quite popular in recent years." He turned and, with a firm hand, wrote on the board the following --#1 --"Doing a little drugs won't hurt you all that much." #2 --"A little adultery here and there won't do that much to the long term bonds of family life." Even the more lethargic students shifted a bit in their chairs.
"Now," said the professor, with an impish smile, "what has reality started to tell us about those suppositions?"
A lively discussion ensued. Nearly an hour later the man ended the class, as he so often did, with a question and an affirmation. "Do you see what I mean? In the equations of life, false suppositions are worthless. Reality outweighs them all!"
"You don't believe me?" said the old man. "All right, I'll put some flesh on it. Take Abraham. Six times he asked God to 'suppose' things weren't all that bad in Sodom and Gomorrah. Patient God! God said, 'All right, I'll suppose.' And what happened in the end? You know what happened in the end. WHAM! Those suppositions weren't worth a hoot. It was the reality that counted."
The students barely stirred.
"All right, I'll try once more," said the old man. "Take two suppositions quite popular in recent years." He turned and, with a firm hand, wrote on the board the following --#1 --"Doing a little drugs won't hurt you all that much." #2 --"A little adultery here and there won't do that much to the long term bonds of family life." Even the more lethargic students shifted a bit in their chairs.
"Now," said the professor, with an impish smile, "what has reality started to tell us about those suppositions?"
A lively discussion ensued. Nearly an hour later the man ended the class, as he so often did, with a question and an affirmation. "Do you see what I mean? In the equations of life, false suppositions are worthless. Reality outweighs them all!"
