Posted by Amish Boy on August 25, 2000 at 09:29:58:
In Reply to: My opinion. posted by Proud Blade(VIP) on August 25, 2000 at 09:10:25:
> I've always seen the Tower as a brotherhood of learned men and women- a place for study and growth. Lately, I'm not sure what to think. > The attitude which several recent Masters have taken is akin to the attitude of the dominant European scientific research organization of the Dark Ages- the Church. They have this strict dogma, and it is improper to question it, let alone oppose it. All new developments must be fit into existing dogma, even when it involves hammering square pegs into round holes. > If any Master begins to claim that they are certain that they (a mortal) are certain that they understand all aspects of some discipline of magic, they should be able to explain it to another. Not just another Master- they should command the subject so well that they could explain it to a child. And as a Master, they should relish the chance to do so, when the other party seems receptive to listening. > And they should still listen to dissenting voices, because every once in a while, someone outside the "system" pulls a Copernicus and comes up with a better way to fit all the pieces together. > Most of the time, the dissenting voice will be wrong- this is an inevitable consequence of inheriting a doctrine that a lot of people have given thought to. Nonetheless, and this is the most critical part, members of a scholarly institution should never be punished merely for advancing unpopular ideas. Even when they are wrong, they force others to think critically about their beliefs, and refine them. > If someone proposes radical ideas that they cannot defend, that is another matter. So is the case where someone proposes radical ideas without considering the prevailing ones. > As far the the recent string of logs/posts on this matter, I think both sides should think about open-mindedness, and what the others are saying.