Speaking of Thales, everyone knows that he is the first philosopher in western history. The story that Thales fell into the well because he looked up at the sky is widely circulated. So far, there are many versions. The following are just two examples:

Plato version: Thales accidentally fell into the well when he looked up, so he was laughed at by a clever maid around him, laughing that he was too eager to know things in the sky to see things under his feet. Plato went on to say that such ridicule can actually be added to all philosophers. According to his description, philosophers must be like this, and they should be like this, because they are used to thinking about general things and disdain to care about secular affairs, especially interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, they will be clumsy, and as a result, they will be laughed at by the people.

Rahl modified: The old woman angrily asked Thales, "Since you can't even see the things under your feet, how can you expect to know the things in the sky?"

We can see three kinds of comments on the incompetence of philosophers in common affairs: Plato thinks this is an advantage; A fault that a maid thinks ridiculous but excusable; The old woman thought it was an unforgivable mistake. These three evaluations are advocated by different people.

Second, Plato: Cave Fable

A group of people are like prisoners, living in a cave for generations. This cave has a long passage leading to the outside. People's necks and feet are locked, so they can't look around and can only face the cave wall. There is a fire burning behind them. Between the fire and the prisoner, there were some people walking around with utensils, and the transformed image of the utensils was cast on the cave wall in front of the prisoner by the fire. Prisoners can't look back, don't know the reason of the images, think these shadows are "reality", call them by different names, and get used to this life. When a prisoner accidentally broke free from the shackles and looked back at the fire, he found that what he had seen before was an image rather than a real thing; When he continued to work hard and walked out of the hole, his eyes were stimulated by the sun and he could see nothing but nothingness. He had to go back to the cave, but he also regretted it. He hated himself for seeing everything clearly because it brought him more pain.

Plato also told us that it is not terrible to return to this shore and to the cave. The terrible thing is that when we understand the outside of the cave and recognize the nothingness on the other side, we will return to the cave and this shore. There is nothing outside the cave; There is a load inside the hole, a vacuum outside the hole that can't tell the direction, and a self-evident load inside the hole; ..... In fact, outside the cave and inside the cave, although the weight is different, they are all unbearable.

Socrates: Chicken lays eggs, or eggs lay chickens?

There was a young man in ancient Greece who thought he was smarter than the great philosopher Socrates.

One day, Socrates asked him a question: "which came first, the egg or the chicken?"

Without thinking, the young man replied, "Chickens are hatched from eggs, and naturally there are eggs first!" "

"The egg is a chicken. Where did you get the eggs without chickens? "

The young man thought for a moment and said, "That's the chicken first!" "

"You just said that chickens are hatched from eggs. Where is the chicken without eggs? "

The young man complained, "Why do you ask such a strange question?" Now I also ask you a question. "

"Please mention it."

"Do you think the egg or the chicken came first?"

Socrates answered honestly, "I don't know."

The young man smiled: "I see, you and I are almost the same!" " "

Socrates said, "No, you know what you don't know, and I don't know what you don't know. I just don't know if I don't know. I don't know if I don't know the country! "

4. Zhuangzi and Keiko: the debate between An Zhi and Yue.

Zhuangzi Autumn Water

Zhuangzi and Keiko are swimming on the Haoliang River. Zhuangzi said, "It is a pleasure for fish to swim leisurely." Keiko said, "You are not a fish. How can you know that fish are happy?" ? Zhuangzi said, "You are not me. How do you know that I don't know that fish are happy?" " ? " Keiko said, "I'm not a son, and I really don't know my son." Zi Gu is not a fish, but he doesn't know the happiness of fish. "Zhuangzi said," please follow its source. Confucius said,' You know a lot about fish.' If you know what I know, ask me. I know it very well. "

Zhuangzi and Hui Shi went out for a walk one day and walked onto a bridge with good water. Zhuangzi saw the fish swimming freely in the water and said, "Look, how happy these fish are!" Hui Shi replied, "If you are not a fish, how do you know that fish is happy?" Zhuangzi asked, "You are not me. How do you know that I don't know the happiness of fish? " Hui Shi said, "I'm not you. I don't know how you feel, but you are not a fish. How do you know if a fish is happy? " Zhuangzi explained: "Let's talk about the truth in detail. Just now you asked me how I know the happiness of fish, so you already know that I know the happiness of fish. As for why you know? That's because I went to Haoshui Bridge and saw the fish swimming around in the water, so I felt that the fish were very happy. "

V. Wang Yangming enjoys flowers in Nancheng (the following is from Wang Yangming Post Bar)

"When you didn't see this flower, it died with your heart. Now when you look at this flower, you will know that the color of this flower is not outside your heart. "

In fact, Nanzhen's flower appreciation does not involve the existing problem, that is, whether things will exist because of the existence of "heart". In fact, Nanzhen's flower appreciation only involves an "observation event": "you" as an observer and "flower" as an observed.

When the observation event does not happen, there are no observers and there are no observers. "This flower dies with your heart."

Once the observation event happens, it is the process of the observer's cognition of the observed object and the process of obtaining the current "knowledge". The result is "the flower and your heart suddenly understand."