Proverbs, when used appropriately, make one seem well-learned, able to understand the nature of things. They're the phrases your mother might have chided you with as you grew up. Remember fighting with your siblings or friends over control to do something? -- "Too many chefs spoil the broth!"
But what about when you wouldn't let others help you, let's say out of pride, as your impatient mother looked on? "Many hands make light work," she might have reminded you.
How can both these proverbs be right? How can we reconcile the contradictory nature of these two phrases?
Proverbs are phrases that have stood the test of time. There's almost one for any particular situation. We always use them for a reason, to explain why something is so ('birds of the same feather flock together') or to give advice ('forewarned is forearmed'). When one is used, onlookers will usually nod their heads in agreement because they know each proverb contains some perceived grain of undeniable truth accepted society-wide, and it would be folly to dispute the validity of any of them.
And yet many contradictory pairings exist...
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How can we have contradictory truisms? Is it something as simple as us not being able to think of the opposite pairing when any proverb is trotted out?
Well let's think about how a proverb is formed. A long, long time ago, some really, really clever person noticed a trend in the happenings of the world, generalised, and made a conclusion about why all such happenings occur or how they should be dealt with in the future. But, we should realise that this conclusion was made through the lens of that person, and regardless of how clever he may have been, his judgement was still subject to his own biases. Biases that were developed throughout his life as a result of the experiences he went through and the moral values he cultivated.
If you're someone who whole-heartedly believes that life is one big struggle and that success is only earned with blood and sweat then "there's no thing as a free lunch" would resonate with you. Yet, although another person might hold the same belief that life is intrinsically hard, one long endless struggle, he might also believe that "the best things in life are free", elements of the struggle that you have to be brave enough to spot, nurture, and cherish... things like love, relationships, family, etc.
Neither is wrong because neither is right. In the same line of thinking, all proverbs are true, because they're all equally false.
Look before you leap.
He who hesitates is lost.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Don't beat your head against a stone wall.
Two heads are better than one.
Paddle your own canoe.
Haste makes waste.
Time waits for no man.
You're never too old to learn.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
It's better to be safe than sorry.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
More here
--
How can we have contradictory truisms? Is it something as simple as us not being able to think of the opposite pairing when any proverb is trotted out?
Well let's think about how a proverb is formed. A long, long time ago, some really, really clever person noticed a trend in the happenings of the world, generalised, and made a conclusion about why all such happenings occur or how they should be dealt with in the future. But, we should realise that this conclusion was made through the lens of that person, and regardless of how clever he may have been, his judgement was still subject to his own biases. Biases that were developed throughout his life as a result of the experiences he went through and the moral values he cultivated.
If you're someone who whole-heartedly believes that life is one big struggle and that success is only earned with blood and sweat then "there's no thing as a free lunch" would resonate with you. Yet, although another person might hold the same belief that life is intrinsically hard, one long endless struggle, he might also believe that "the best things in life are free", elements of the struggle that you have to be brave enough to spot, nurture, and cherish... things like love, relationships, family, etc.
Neither is wrong because neither is right. In the same line of thinking, all proverbs are true, because they're all equally false.
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