THE ELEPHANT AND THE BLIND MEN
The classic Indian story of the elephant and the blind men is often used as a paradigm for justifying moral relativism and the unreasonableness of making absolute truth claims. The story is that of six blind men who come upon an elephant for the first time in their lives and go on to feel different parts of the elephant. One feels the back and concludes the elephant is like a wall, another feels the tusk and likens the elephant to a spear. Yet another touches the leg and says the elephant is akin to a tree, while the fourth cradles the squirming trunk to assume the elephant is like a snake. The last two feel the ears and the tail and assume the elephant is like a fan and a rope respectively. Subjectively they are partly right in their assessment, yet objectively they are way off mark.
The morals of the story usually implied are that we should be equally open to the varying interpretations of the truth even though they might be different from ours, all religions and philosophies are acceptable and the individual can decide what he wants to believe and that ultimately truth might not be entirely discoverable.
The story does a good job of letting us know that we are finite and there are infinite aspects of our reality that cannot be fully known. There are multiple problems though with the story and its implications.
First, the blind men could have done a better job of trying to find the truth. Despite the blind men being hailed as heralds of relativism, could they not have tried to explore more about this creature in front of them? In that sense are they not culpable of intellectual laziness? Settling down with the first version of truth we come across might not be best method to arrive at the truth. Exploring further to see if the ‘truth’ we have come across is consistent and non-contradictory is important. The fellows who concluded that the elephant was a tree trunk or a wall could have easily touched the trunk or the tail to concluded that their initial conclusion was faulty. The same goes for religion or philosophy. Unfortunately, most are happy with to live with the contradictions their belief systems carry.
Second, does my interpretation of truth gel with reality? Imagine the blind man who thinks the elephant is a rope trying to tie his bundle of firewood with it or the one who thinks it’s a tree trying to cut it down. They would not get far, because the elephant that was pretty happy for the men to touch it and make their own initial conclusions, would now have none of it. You can misinterpret truth to a degree and get away with it. If my truth and your truth are both okay, it won’t be too long before my truth will cease to coexist with your truth. And even when there are different interpretations of the truth like in wars that rage across the world, or cases that come before judges, how does one decide as to which side is the right one unless there is one absolute truth? And from a logical and functional standpoint, it is hard not to have a loving personal infinite God at the very beginning of a winning thesis on absolute truth.
Finally, if there is an opportunity for higher knowledge, would we take it? Even if the blind men lived in a society where all were blind, they must have sensed that there was a way to see and know more about the reality they were trying to figure out. To remain smug with the limited perception of reality and not seek to know fully is not ideal. What if the blind men were offered the opportunity for eyesight and how does the story change if one of them accepts the invitation for eyesight? And have cured his blindness, if he then claims to see the whole picture, and offers insight (no pun) to the others, how would they respond? What if the blind men continued to claim that they know all that there is to be known? Would it not be a better response if they also yearned for eyesight so that they could fully see? It intuitive that with man’s finiteness, knowledge of the infinite has to be revealed to him, though the extent of the revelation certainly depends on his yearning for it.
Moral relativism is an attractive theory, however without absolute truth, life is unlivable.
