Paradox of Correcting a Fool
19th century’s American poet, lecturer and an essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson is believed to have said that “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.”
And, of course mistakes will also be made during that experience because we all are imperfect and that is why we are here on earth to experience, make mistake and then learn, improve and strive to be as perfect as possible. However, in case of fools there is an exception to that journey or struggle of life: they also make mistakes but are unable to learn from them.
And the main reason fools are unable to learn has been the one mentioned in the following quote.
Above words, it seems, were uttered in a state of agony by some unknown victim who would have suffered more tomfooleries than any of us could have imagined. But, in spite of looking a wonderful gem of wisdom, the quote appears to contain a sort of incongruity because it exhorts us to not correct a fool as he will hate us. Hate us! why? How can or why should a person, who is being corrected/guided, hate us. One answer, and apparently convincing too, can be that because fools, by their very default mode, are always sure that they are always right and thus don’t have any room for improvement and to make an effort to correct them would be an exercise in futility and instead of learning something fool will show his resentment in the from of hate. But if it is not the fool who should be corrected then who? As per author of the quote, we should correct a wise person. But then a wise person is, apparently, already a sensible person and needn’t be corrected or given advice.
To solve this paradox we would have to dig deeper with the help of some sage or scholar, such as 19th century’s timeless American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer Mark Twain who, while giving credence to the views expressed in the above cited quote, also attempts to furnish the very reason to avoid the fools:
Here, confirming the prognosis given in the beginning, he too advises wise people (who don’t know or think they are wise as fools also don’t think that they are fools) to never argue with idiots as it can have two consequences:
i) They will not understand as they are always full of themselves and unlike Socrates believe that they know everything. That is why they are fools.
ii) They might also react strongly and thus degrade you by using stupid tactics.
Wide variety of iterations (of this quote) have also been attributed to a range of pundits/celebrities, including Kevin Garnett, George Carlin, and, most frequently, Mark Twain. Below is one of them that seems more ironical or brilliant with a little alteration:
Don’t argue with a fool. He will drag you to his level and will beat you with his foolishness.
Replacing the word “experience” with “foolishness” makes a crucial difference that relegates the fools to the position they really deserve.
Regardless, the quote and its iteration both convey that you should never argue with stupid people, as they will not debate in a sensible manner to reach some conclusion, but rather with emotions and egoistic self assertion for the sake of debate only. Since sane folks aren’t used to that, fools will have an advantage and beat them through stupidity, which they are experienced in. Thus, according to the above iteration of the Twain’s quote, fool’s only experience is foolishness as they are unable to learn even from their mistakes because they have fixed mind-set and are never open to new ideas. That is why in the face of new situations and challenges, they keep on repeating the same old strategies. And it is their comedy as well as tragedy at the same time. Einstein has very poignantly explained this problem or trait of the fools:
In short, fool’s experience is not experience in a positive or progressive sense that enables one to gain insights from their mistakes and learn and move on to next stage.
In other words, since this experience is not an experience in learning from mistakes but stubbornly clinging to the old stupid ways to act and debates, it is rather a foolishness (or accumulated follies) than an experience.
Here are some other quotes repeating the warning in different words:
i) “Arguing with a fool proves there are two.” — Unknown
ii) .“Nothing is to be gained by arguing with fools.” –Dr T.P.Chia
iii) “You can disagree without saying anything. Not needing to win trivial arguments saves you time, energy, and friends.” — Shane Parrish
iv) “A foolish man is always doing, Yet much remains to be done.” — Unknown (This also seems to be true in case of most of the active social media users)
v) “I am at a stage where I avoid argument. If you tell me elephant can fly. You are absolutely right.” — Unknown
But the question that arises in the mind, after all this haggle waggle, is that “if fools only cause problems and misery for us and also can’t be corrected then what to do with them because we can’t even avoid them as they they are everywhere ?”
In simple words: What is the purpose of their existence?
Answer, according to some sages, is that fools or idiots are not as purposeless, useless and even harmful as they seem to most of us. Instead they serve a wonderful purpose for those who, instead of trying to make them wise, observe them and enrich their own experience of life. Thus fools, like mistakes, are great teachers who teach us “what not to do” instead of “what to do.”
In other words, fool is telling us that he is doing wrong things and when we observe his follies we have the opportunity to correct ourselves, instead of trying to criticize or correct the fool or get irritated.
And the famous moralist (though also believed to be irascible) Mark Twain too can’t help but agree:
“Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed. If you send a damned fool to St. Louis, and you don’t tell them he’s a damned fool, they’ll never find out.”
And he also appreciates fools for another important reason:
If all the fools in this world should die, lordly God how lonely I should be.
(Letter to Olivia Clemens, 1/23/1885)
Following are some valuable lessons that we can learn from a fool:
- Being arrogant doesn’t make you important. Moreover it also makes you unable to learn as you refuse to listen to wise counsel, and thus can’t make any progress in life. Whatever you do, don’t be this person,
- How not to invite a trouble. According to wise people, fool’s lips, by getting into unnecessary argument, walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating. As Fools speak without any thought, their words get them into constant quarrels or troubles.
3. It is always better to lose your argument than your temper. Fools can make you so irritated, by constantly offering stupid arguments, that you have a risk of losing your temper. However, the moment you lose your temper, you are in their trap and will lose your argument. Thus it is better to lose your argument than your temper so that people don’t have difficulty knowing who is the fool. Thus when a fool pours forth his foolishness, it is often right to not answer them.
4. Jealously, greed, and covetousness is harmful. According to bible, “you shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wealth, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” This will deprive you of your peace of mind as you will either start hating your neighbour for being better than you or start struggling to get the same things for you and thus make your life harder than ever without any guarantee of desired results.
5. It is not bad to show your ignorance. On the contrary, it is better because if you think that you already know everything then you can’t learn anymore and thus there will be no progress in life.
6. Taking responsibility is the solution. Fools don’t accept responsibility for their own failures, but blame other people. If a fool would only accept responsibility for their foolish ways — they could possibly learn from them and grow by them. If you think that other people who created problems for you will also solve them, you are a damn fool.
7. Listening is better than speaking. To listen, we need to make a conscious effort not to just hear what people are saying but to take it in, digest it and understand. The ability to listen is also incredibly important in interpersonal communication because it helps us better understand what the other person is. Thus the more you listen, the more you learn. Fools, on the contrary, love speaking. Moreover, listening is believed to be a key method in lifelong learning. Going beyond education, it helps people understand others better, it builds trust and also makes others feel important. It is one of the key skills that can make or break a situation.
When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.
- Dalai Lama
As regards the second part of the quote at the top, that asks us to correct a wise, it is telling us that “even the brightest and the intelligent people can make dumb (or not so dumb) mistakes, especially in situations that require common sense.” However, the difference is that unlike fools who are arrogant and thus don’t acknowledge their mistakes, the wise people are humble enough to acknowledge as well as correct their mistakes and, in addition to being thankful to the person for pointing them out they also save themselves from future trouble or embarrassment.
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References:
ii) https://therestaurantboss.com/correct-wise-man-not-fool/
iii) https://mindblood.com/arguing-with-fools-quotes/
