<\/p>\n
\u201cFree inquiry, if restrained within due bounds, and applied to proper subjects, is a most important privilege of the human mind; and if well conducted, is one of the greatest friends to truth\u201d (Th\u00e9odore-Agrippa D\u2019Aubign\u00e9).<\/p>\n
PEOPLE WITH HIGH-QUALITY LIVES TEND TO BE THOSE WHO (A) ASK GOOD QUESTIONS, AND THEN (B) WORK HARD TO FIND THE ANSWERS. Inquiry is a conspicuous habit of almost all successful people. There is really no substitute for it. Either we \u201cinquire\u201d or we \u201cexpire\u201d without having learned what we needed to know.<\/p>\n
Carefulness in our inquiries.<\/em> It\u2019s not enough to ask questions; we need to ask good<\/em> questions. Contrary to what the \u201cenquiring\u201d tabloids seem to think, some questions are a waste of time. Just as there is junk food, there is also such a thing as junk knowledge. And not only that, but some things are simply none of our business. So we need to be careful in deciding what the things are that we\u2019d like to inquire about.<\/p>\n Diligence in our inquiries.<\/em> Assuming that our questions are worth seeking an answer to, we also need to understand that hard work and persistence may be required. Accurate answers to our questions are not always easily found or quickly understood. So if there\u2019s something worth knowing and we say that we want to know it, we need to be willing to pay the price. Inquiries take time and energy.<\/p>\n Charles Sanders Peirce said, \u201cDo not block the way of inquiry.\u201d If we don\u2019t watch out, we may find ourselves doing that, either for ourselves or for others. There is something a little frightening about new knowledge, and we\u2019re often tempted to resist inquiries that may lead in disturbing directions. But truth, even uncomfortable truth, is always preferable to untruth. We must be courageous.<\/p>\n A healthy measure of old-fashioned inquisitiveness can add immense value to our lives. Curiosity may have killed the cat, and, as we\u2019ve suggested, there are things we ought to have the good sense not to inquire into. But even so, we shouldn\u2019t fail to recognize the good that can come from good inquiries. There are vast treasuries of knowledge waiting to open up to us. We need to ask, ask, and ask again!<\/p>\n I keep six honest serving-men Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
(Rudyard Kipling)<\/p>\n