The Blind Men and the Elephant by John Godfrey Saxe

Rather the poem unfolds with clear predictability: The blind men cannot see what is right in front of them the blind men are too-content with pretending their limited perception is a valid truth and the blind men refuse to communicate and share, each too intent on their own limited perception. Saxe’s poem is a story, the premise of which is contrived-no reason is given for why six blind men need to understand what an elephant is-and these men are not characters, that is, three-dimensional constructs with individual, signature psychologies, and complex motivations. The Fireside Poets sought to make clear the function and purpose of individuals within a society, and Saxe embraced that template. At that time, poets held a treasured and valued public role: to give the nation its conscience. In theology, just because we have limited access to Truth, that doesn’t mean any and all versions of Truth are equally valid.Saxe published this poem during America’s Gilded Age-relentless in its pursuit of bigger and better, pushed by the can-do spirit of a nation/culture just beginning to emerge into its majority. In fact, truth isn’t relative at all… It’s there to discover in all its totality. Doesn’t the picture of the blind men and the elephant also point to something bigger - The elephant? Indeed, each blind man has a limited perspective on the objective truth, but that doesn’t mean objective truth isn’t there.

When it comes to the moral of the Blind Men and the Elephant, it seems that today’s philosophers end their agenda too quickly.

How can a person with a limited touch of truth turn that into the one and only version of all reality?īlind Men and the Elephant – Theological Truth The simple reason is that our sensory perceptions and life experiences can lead to limited access and overreaching misinterpretations. The Blind Men and the Elephant is an ancient parable used today as a warning for people that promote absolute truth or exclusive religious claims. Here is John Godfrey Saxe’s (1816-1887) version of Blind Men and the Elephant:īlind Men and the Elephant – Philosophical Parable In philosophy departments throughout the world, the Blind Men and the Elephant has become the poster child for moral relativism and religious tolerance.īlind Men and the Elephant – A Poem by John Godfrey Saxe In turn, each blind man creates his own version of reality from that limited experience and perspective. The Blind Men and the Elephant is a famous Indian fable that tells the story of six blind sojourners that come across different parts of an elephant in their life journeys. Blind Men and the Elephant – A Picture of Relativism and Tolerance

The Blind Men and the Elephant by John Godfrey Saxe