Unreasonable Beliefs

Man's Ascent to Reason

Some years ago I wrote a book called Man’s Ascent to Reason. This book discussed the principal philosophers who taught us over the centuries to avoid unreasonable beliefs and injurious conduct. Socrates (470 BCE – 399 BCE), who was the oldest of these philosophers, did not write anything, but his student Plato describes his life extensively. Socrates and Plato both were Greeks. The earliest Jewish philosopher was  known as Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE- 50 CE). These men and others were called philosophers or Lovers of Wisdom. They attempted to teach all of us to live a reasonable life and to avoid so many of the self-destructive practices which are as common today as they were in all the years preceding this century. In my book I reviewed the main ideas of all those who practice philosophy from Socrates to the present. You may find the writings of philosophers easy to understand and of value. 

Today, as always, there are numerous beliefs current in the American population which lead to practices which are not in accord with reason but are based on beliefs which cannot be supported by facts. We Jews are not immune from claiming unreasonable conditions to exist . Here are examples of some of these unreasonable views .

First:  Orthodox Jews mistreat women because men and women are segregated during prayer services. The truth is the opposite. Orthodox Jews treat women with respect and honor women at all times. Furthermore, men are segregated from women because men are far more likely to become more interested in women sitting next to them during Torah reading or prayers than the opposite. Women are seldom those who create  adulterous situations, as the evidence provides. Therefore, orthodox Jews , although most respectful and supportive of women, avoid physical contact with unrelated women and thereby are far more reasonable than those who criticize orthodox practices but beat women, abandon their wives and children, waste money on gambling and drugs, or insult their wives in front of others. Would it not be a wonderful world if we could stop adultery, keep all families together, stop the use of drugs, and remember that man was created in the image of Shem Yisborach and that women are to be treated by all men as they are treated by Torah-true Jews?

Second:  During the three yeas that we suffered from the Chinese virus that caused covid, almost a million Americans died because they refused to be vaccinated on the grounds that the vaccine causes, among other allegations, autism. That is nonsense. Reality shows us that injections by vaccines save lives, while unreasonable beliefs  kill.

Third:  Every year numerous 16 year old boys and a few girls drop out of school. Those who do so tell us that they hate school demands that they want to be men, not boys, and that they are better off getting a job working in construction, etc. They get such jobs, earn money, buy a car, get a girlfriend, and feel great about this unreasonable behavior  until at age forty they can hardly walk from pain in their backs and legs  as hard labor guarantees early disabilities, little money, and poverty for the family. A rational person stays in school and learns something useful. Irrational people drop out because they live only in the present and disregard the future consequences of their actions.

Fourth:  Alcohol and other drugs are killing or otherwise destroying numerous lives in this country every day. Drunken drivers never stop injuring and killing others. Drunks consume huge amounts of money which should be used to support the family and ruin  the lives of the drunks and their loved ones. Drugs kill. Yet, despite the constant warnings by doctors and others that drugs are  dangerous, millions of Americans, including children, keep using these dangerous substances. Drugs lead to suicide, abandonment of the family, waste of resources, and an unhappy life. Why not read good books, learn to play an instrument, attend synagogue services, study Talmud, participate in a sport, write  a journal article, paint a picture, travel to yet unseen places, collect stamps, listen to the Italian opera, raise many children, etc. Life can be beautiful and we can indeed have “a good time” if we stay sober and stay out of nightclubs, which are not entertaining, but a waste of the only life we have.

Fifth:  Avoid all violence. Those who lived through the holocaust can testify to the utter unreasonable use of violence. No, we do not spank children. No, we do not punch, kick, or otherwise hurt the spouse. We do not insult anyone, for verbal attacks are also violence. Above all, we need to avoid war. No one has ever won a war. The winners are also losers, as I can demonstrate and as President Eisenhower, former commander of all allied forces during World War Two, asserted repeatedly. We pray “ausse shoam bilocho” every day. Vote only for those who know how to avoid war. It is far worse than any TV movie can ever portray.

Sixth:  There are in this country many people who believe that gambling is the only way to become wealthy. That is an unreal attitude. The best way to earn more and more is to work. The Germans call a profession  “Beruf,” That word means a calling. According to Jewish ethics, all work is honorable and all work is a calling. Evidently, there is work that must be learned  over many years. There are those who claim that they have no patience to sit in school for years.  They also have no patience to become a plumber, an auto mechanic, a carpenter,  or an electrician. All earn a substantial income as do those who study in colleges. Yet, unreasonable people claim that they don’t have the talent to earn a degree or become a surveyor. That is bunk. I spent my whole life teaching at several colleges and must assert that every subject taught in any undergraduate school can be learned by anyone willing to do so. There are indeed those who spread the propaganda in colleges that math is too much to understand or that that is true for English, or foreign languages  or physics or anything at all. The truth is this. If thirty students who are normal people and not Einstein can learn calculus, then so can all  of us who are also normal people. It takes no genius to write  a book. All it takes is patience and willingness to work and forget about “top shelf  whiskey.”

Work is a wonderful means of forgetting our troubles and instead enjoying the fruits of our labor.

I could easily list yet more examples of how reality helps us and nonsense destroys us. Read Immanuel Kant. You will love his works . He was born in 1724 but his teachings are still valid. Above all read, English translations of Maimonides  and the great Rabbis of eastern Europe such as the Baal Shem Tov, and you will agree with all those who are having a great time because they distinguish reality from foolish conduct, and remember the Torah, which teaches … and you shall walk humbly with your God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Shalom, my friends, and may you live to 120 years.

Shalom u'vracha.

  Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications, including The American Jewish Community in the 20th and 21st Century (2021).

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