For the quest, that is… and if so, how can one acquire it?
Let us postulate… Progress in human thinking only comes when truths are discovered. Truths are discovered only if we are on the right tracks of thought. These tracks must be, by its very nature, unbiased, unemotional, void of any plan or agenda. Does all this not sound far far away from the common human traits? We could blame evolution for making us humans intrinsically and intuitively inclined towards being selfish, conniving, plotting, and shall we add, sinister. But then again, we think and judge. We can tell right from wrong. How come it is so difficult, even for the most learned of the human race, to be unbiased and fair?
If one sets out to discover what one considers to be the truths of existence, one must be intellectually fair. It seems this fairness requires maturity. But intellectual maturity is not enough. After all, many-a big shots are unfair, plotting, influencing. Neither can one argue for the ultimate and universal fairness. Otherwise, I fear, not only there would be no room for politicians, but as paradoxically as it may seem, there would be no progress.
What then, you may ask, does one need over and above fairness to seek one’s truths. I say it is the completeness of viewing all sides of an argument. Without this, one is by definition limited to what is seen and what is not. It should not be bothersome that irrespective of how hard we try, we only see the part, never the whole. Well, so what? As we see more and more, we discover more and more.
One thing for sure, though. If it were not so, the universe would be a much more boring place than it already is.