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Asking Questions |
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| Authors: | Penny Blackie |
| Abstract: | To ask a question is to invite a reply. If the question is relevant to anything of human account then presumably the reply will change one's perception of himself and his world. Sometimes one anticipates a reply which will confirm a position he has already taken, that is to say, one from which he has been accustomed to launch his inquiries. But the confirmation, if it occurs, will nonetheless alter his experience - if only because it puts his position in a more presumptuous light. He must know that. Sometimes one anticipates a reply which will disconfirm his present outlook. In that case he may assert his position with particular vigor on the occasions when it is most likely to be challenged. A person who seems to go out of his way to fail does that. Again, sometimes, one appears to ask for no particular reply, only for something he can grasp. In this case the relevance of the question may give us a clue to a construct dimension we might envision within his system. That, in turn, should give us some hint as to the kind of reply he is prepared to accept. The tricky part of all this, both for him and for us, is that replies seldom end up being acceptable conclusions. At best they are grounds for further inquiries. The best answer to a question is two better ones. |
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