Chapter 11, Page 1

Chapter 11

Truth, Treasures, and Dreams

You will use the Dialectic differently from other readers because you are different. Your background, beliefs, values, and goals are unique. We each have distinct personalities, perspectives, and possibilities. Our best thought must be consistent with who we are. There is a logic of life. We are the basis of our own thinking—the thesis, the major premise—therefore, we must each determine what that is to be. If we are to think with integrity, we must clarify our basic beliefs, values, and goals. We must know who we are.

Ideally, to do the best thinking, we must be or become good persons, persons of good character. So we must know ourselves, our personal and communal convictions and values. We must determine and give shape to our own unique character. We cannot do our best thinking until we know who we are and why, not until we can clearly and concisely state our starting position in life. If we don’t realize where we’re coming from, there is no telling what will follow. We must know ourselves, decide who we are, and who we intend to become, then live the life of that person. We must live what we believe, else life disintegrates.

All our thought is rooted in what we accept as truth. What do you believe? What do you believe to be true? What do you feel certain about? What do you accept without question? What are your convictions, that is, those things you are convinced of? These core beliefs form the basic theses of our lives. They are, consciously or unconsciously, the starting point of all our thinking.