Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

A wise man (my advisor when I was doing my philosophy degree) once said something to the effect of:

There are two great mistakes you can make in philosophy. One is deciding there is no ultimate answer. The other is deciding you've found it.




That's rather trite, especially considering it follows that standard wise-mystic pattern of "two statements which contradict each other." Someone wrote a comic about it but unfortunately I can't find it.


There's nothing inherently contradictory about an unknowable truth. Disagree: it's merely trite, not incorrect, and in spite of being trite it still brings a grin to my lips.


Is it a mistake to say "There may be an ultimate answer, but we have no means of reaching it"?


I think that would be Absurdism, but instead of reaching it, we can't understand it.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: