For long I have told all of you that great sayings come in contradictory pairs. Or, never argue with a quotation because the opposite of the quotation is also true. Try to learn from a quotation. Here are two great ones--that seemingly contradict each other.
"The ear is more useful than the eye for knowledge." I will repeat--the ear is more useful, than the eye, for knowledge." In other words, pay attention to what people say. Listen carefully. How they say what they say--their choice of words -- is highly revelatory. Don't ignore what you see, but body language, posture, facial expression, may be misinterpreted, and you always only see a part of a scene--from one angle. So, the ear is more useful than the eye for knowledge.
Saying number two: "Wise men report what they have seen, fools what they have heard." At first this did seem to me to contradict saying number one: the emphasis here is on what you've seen, not what you've heard. Don't trust words, believe only what you see--but now I realize that saying number two--Wise men report what they have seen, fools what they have heard" is referring to the difference between first hand evidence--you've seen it, and second hand evidence--someone else claims to have seen it--and told you about it, in other words you heard second hand.
Perhaps then, there is no contradiction--and yet there should be contradictory statements about what you see & what you hear--both are biased & limited, and yet we must rely on what we have been given, ears & eyes--use both as best you can.
Body language, facial expressions--do reveal a great deal. Some people find it harder to hide visual evidence--their body gives them away. One's choice of words reveal a great deal. Some people's words betray them.
These and those are the words of the living god--don't trust either visual or aural evidence; watch people closely, listen carefully to what they say. Truth resides in all camps; different situations reveal different truths. In certain situations the ear is more useful than the eye. In certain situations the eye reveals truths not heard by the ear. Watch carefully, listen carefully, something is always to be learned from whatever source. And here's one final pessimistic quotation: Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein