从前，有六个谦逊的盲人，完全不知道大象是什么样子的。他们觉得，虽然没法子看到大象，能够触摸也好。
第一个盲人摸了大象的腿：‘嘿，大象是根柱子。’
第二个盲人摸了大象的尾：‘大象像根绳子。’
第三个盲人摸了大象的鼻：‘大象像树干。’
第四个盲人摸了大象的耳：‘大象是把扇。’
第五个盲人摸了大象的腹：‘大象像大墙。’
第六个盲人摸了大象的牙：‘大象是硬管。’
因为他们都信任他们的朋友的话，结论是大象包含了所有他们所说的特征。虽然还是没法知道大象到底是什么的样子，但是能够这样体验大象，已经心满意足。
有一个盲人智者也在现场，他不满意这个结论。
他冷静地说：‘亲爱的朋友，你们相信你们的手掌，那就犯了大错。手掌不能够触摸整个大象。只指出特征并不能说明什么。还有，绳子不可能同时又是大墙。因为我们都是盲人，真正和实在的大象是超越我们的 ，而你们所触摸的都不是真实的。我劝告各位，我们唯一能做的是用我们的推论能力和想象力，把这些组合为一个较为真实的大象图像。’
不幸的是，当时并没有一个视力正常的智者在场来开导我们这群可怜的盲者。
提议：把上面的故事再读一遍。这次以中国哲学家取代那六名谦逊的盲人，以西方大哲学家，如柏拉图取代那位盲人智者。
问题：能找到智者吗？
.
Once upon a time, there lived six humble blind men who had no idea what an elephant was. They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway."
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched the elephant’s leg.
"It is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"It is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
"It is a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
"It is a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
Since they all trusted their friend’s words, they therefore concluded that actually the elephant had all those features of what they all said. Although they still did not know what exactly an elephant was, they were quite happy to experience the elephant as it was.
A wise blind man was there, and he found the conclusion unsatisfactory.
He calmly explained to them, "My dear friends, all of you make a serious mistake of believing your palms. The palm has not the means of covering the whole of the beast. You have said nothing by just pointing out those features. Surely, a rope cannot be a huge wall at the same time. Since all of us are blind, and the real and actual beast is transcendent to us, what you have touched is unreal. My advice to all of you is that, the only thing we can do is to make full use of your reasoning power and imagination to put all pieces together to form a realistic image of the beast. "
It was unfortunate in this case that there was no wise man with normal eyesight there to enlighten these poor blind men…..
Suggestion: Read the story again. This time imagine the six humble blind men are any six Chinese philosophers and the wise blind man is a great western philosopher, say Plato.
Question: Is there any wise man around?
第一个盲人摸了大象的腿：‘嘿，大象是根柱子。’
第二个盲人摸了大象的尾：‘大象像根绳子。’
第三个盲人摸了大象的鼻：‘大象像树干。’
第四个盲人摸了大象的耳：‘大象是把扇。’
第五个盲人摸了大象的腹：‘大象像大墙。’
第六个盲人摸了大象的牙：‘大象是硬管。’
因为他们都信任他们的朋友的话，结论是大象包含了所有他们所说的特征。虽然还是没法知道大象到底是什么的样子，但是能够这样体验大象，已经心满意足。
有一个盲人智者也在现场，他不满意这个结论。
他冷静地说：‘亲爱的朋友，你们相信你们的手掌，那就犯了大错。手掌不能够触摸整个大象。只指出特征并不能说明什么。还有，绳子不可能同时又是大墙。因为我们都是盲人，真正和实在的大象是超越我们的 ，而你们所触摸的都不是真实的。我劝告各位，我们唯一能做的是用我们的推论能力和想象力，把这些组合为一个较为真实的大象图像。’
不幸的是，当时并没有一个视力正常的智者在场来开导我们这群可怜的盲者。
提议：把上面的故事再读一遍。这次以中国哲学家取代那六名谦逊的盲人，以西方大哲学家，如柏拉图取代那位盲人智者。
问题：能找到智者吗？
.
Once upon a time, there lived six humble blind men who had no idea what an elephant was. They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway."
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched the elephant’s leg.
"It is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"It is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
"It is a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
"It is a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
Since they all trusted their friend’s words, they therefore concluded that actually the elephant had all those features of what they all said. Although they still did not know what exactly an elephant was, they were quite happy to experience the elephant as it was.
A wise blind man was there, and he found the conclusion unsatisfactory.
He calmly explained to them, "My dear friends, all of you make a serious mistake of believing your palms. The palm has not the means of covering the whole of the beast. You have said nothing by just pointing out those features. Surely, a rope cannot be a huge wall at the same time. Since all of us are blind, and the real and actual beast is transcendent to us, what you have touched is unreal. My advice to all of you is that, the only thing we can do is to make full use of your reasoning power and imagination to put all pieces together to form a realistic image of the beast. "
It was unfortunate in this case that there was no wise man with normal eyesight there to enlighten these poor blind men…..
Suggestion: Read the story again. This time imagine the six humble blind men are any six Chinese philosophers and the wise blind man is a great western philosopher, say Plato.
Question: Is there any wise man around?
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