A sweeping sound filled the air of the auditorium as Faru took her seat in the front pew. She could feel the gawking stares and hear the hushed whispers as her fellow scholars drank in her visage, drowning in the unique creature before them.
”You're used to this, though, aren't you?” mused a dusky voice inside her head.
”You hush.” she responded absentmindedly.
It was true, though, and her lip twitched as she remembered her arrival in Zeltiva. Fishermen scoffed, mockingly calling her the rarest catch that got away. Though with much less eloquent diction. Most of the students were avidly curious about her nature, biology, culture, and had pelted her with questions almost immediately upon her arrival. The professors on the other hand held a firm, subtle air of reserved respect, but it didn't stop them from casting sneaking glances her way. And she certainly hadn't missed the undisguised longing in their eyes.
So naturally she retained her aura of mystery and held her head a little higher for it. There was no sense in throwing away all of her valuable cards in the beginning. Knowledge was power, so she believed, and would only exchange hers for something of equal or greater worth. The world could be an uncompromising place and she didn't intend to be taken advantage of the minute she'd left the starting gate.
The sound of a door opening caught her attention, and her gaze flickered to the back of the room as she spotted its source.
A grizzled man strode through the entrance of the classroom, yawning and scratching his scruffy beard as he made his leisurely way to the front of the theater, stopping only once he reached the pillar of a podium that stood ever-so-proudly in the center stage. Blinking, his eyes settled on Faru, and he smiled.
She didn't really like that.
“Welcome.” The man boomed, suddenly, and an audible shifting sound accompanied his voice as several students adjusted their posture in response. “To your first lesson in philosophy.”
He drew out a large stave from behind the large stand, pointing it at the blackboard behind him and drawing a clear chalky line. Above it he lazily scrawled out a name with a few flicks of his wrist.
Amodeus.
“You may call me Modes.” He thundered. “Today's lecture will pertain to the foundation of philosophy, and will involve some basic rules and formats that must be followed as my fellow scholars.”
He straightened his back and smiled brightly, the bright blues of his eyes gleaming from the bright light flowing through the windows. “I understand that many of you here today may have never heard of, or been introduced to the idea of cognitive dissonance, a phrase which can be described as a sensation one feels when they discover a core belief of theirs being challenged by an outside stimuli.” He paused, studying the audience for a moment before continuing. “The road of philosophy is one that has been carved, gilded, and embroidered by many men and women. This room belongs to that form of study, and anyone who is unwilling to challenge what they perceive to be true should leave, now.”
His palms shifted, resting against the podium.
“Some of you will find what you learn here to be an ugly thing, and may find yourselves facing inevitable nihilism, while others may discover sides of themselves never before seen, potential and talent hiding under the skin in a form most surprising.” His lips curved into a vague smile.
“Philosophy!” He roared. “Will be this season's area of study, but before we continue, I will lay out a few virtues that must be upheld in this class.”
Faru stared in bewilderment as her professor continued to bellow about various guidelines and cookie-cutter rules that seemed to relate more to common-sense than actual philosophical debate. She had been expecting an elderly sage, or a wizened apple of a creature whose wisdom showed through the wrinkles in their skin.
So who was this young man howling jovially about the various punishments inflicted upon students who dared to stab their neighbors with graphite sticks?
She was answered a moment later as Modes' voice descended into a dull roar.
“Among the various principles I demand of my students, there is a specific guide as to how to gain worthwhile and meaningful data in my class. There are no tests, or labs, there is only debate. Those who manage to make a single leap or gain in this room will pass, while those who cease to participate or make any personal development in their character will fail.
You must contain a sense of curiosity. I will not tolerate a student who takes this course as an idle elective. As you spend your time here I will expect a constant burning desire to learn, an inextinguishable hunger that drives you to succeed, to change, and to conquer this realm of knowledge.
You must be able to relinquish your beliefs. The truth destroys that which it should. Spreading misinformation is the worst crime you can commit in this course, and faulty logic should be corrected immediately upon discovery.
You must allow yourself to be lighter than a feather, both metaphorically and literally. Should an ideal challenge your core being, then you must discard your core being and become someone anew. Do not take a challenge for a fool, and do not take a question for an insult. Flicker like a flame as you jump from one subject to the next, and wear your ideas and personal beliefs like articles of clothing; and allow them to be swapped just as swiftly. Time is finite.
You must become even in your effort. Spread your attentions fairly between qualms offered up to you and ensure that you aren't wasting your time. Beware lest you place huge burdens of proof only on propositions you dislike, and then defend yourself by saying: “But it is good to be skeptical.” If you attend only to favorable evidence, picking and choosing from your gathered data, then the more data you gather, the less you know.
You must allow arguments. To argue is to seek truth and wrest it from the darkest places of our world. We live in a society in which superstition, deceit, and snake oils run rampant. Do not believe you are doing yourself, or someone else a favor by not arguing. Challenge reality and the realities of others.
You must remember empiricism. When we remove diction, what remains is only anticipation. Does a tree sprout from the soil without its roots? Will any plant yield fruit without nourishment? Do not let your argument wander and become about which belief to profess, but about what experience to anticipate. Collect your evidence, hold it in front of you proudly, and await it to be disproved.
You must wield simplicity. You don't have a result when you have nothing more to add, you have a result when you have nothing more to take away. What we seek is the baseboards, the very centerpiece of our subject, the skin beneath the makeup, and the veins beneath the skin. Value is found in all things, but is most clear in its simplest form.
You must allow yourself to be humble. It isn't humble to admit your ability to be fallible, that's modesty, what is humble is to admit your fallibility, and then to prepare against it. Seek out tools to perfect your trade and arm yourself against your weaknesses. Detect, and then destroy.
You must reach for perfectionism. Everyone in this room contains errors in their methodology of thinking, and as they begin to target those errors and eliminate them systematically, the more personal growth will become apparent. Perfection being unattainable is a poor excuse for not seeking it out, hold yourself to a high standard, and then look for an even higher one. Find not contentment in mediocrity.
You must be precise. Specifics can make the difference between a poison, and a medicine. Details ensure the end result of a carpenter's project, whether it is a carriage or a house, the same virtue holds true to a philosopher's mentality.
You must be scholarly. I mean this in the simplest of senses, as the more gluttonous you are in your consumption of information, the larger you will finally become. Connect your rational mind, your logical thoughts, your emotive responses. Study the arts, the sciences, and everything else. Devour academia and rise above yourself. Utilize your education to be the best that you can be.
And finally, there is one more thing you must do.
As you retain what I have just uttered, remember its final purpose. If you can't unveil the truth, stating that you upheld the previous guidelines means nothing. Your result would be nothing. Your reward, nothing. You would have achieved greatness, but found stagnancy instead. As you move forward in my class, claw, rip, and tear your way into truth. Listen to truth. Know truth. Become truth.
Any questions?”
He finished calmly, staring out at the sea of gaping mouths and bulging eyes.
Faru's lips parted, her eyes radiant with excitement and her heart screaming with every pounding rush of adrenaline that made its ways through her veins. “Define truth.” She cried.
Amodeus grinned.
”Excellent request. |
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by Faru on September 25th, 2014, 7:04 am 