Why did the six blind men argue about the elephant? - ProProfs Discuss
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Why did the six blind men argue about the elephant?



Asked by Romer, Last updated: Mar 28, 2024

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L. Liliass

L. Liliass

L. Liliass
L. Liliass

Answered Sep 19, 2017

All the blind men touched different parts of the elephant. The parable of the blind men and an elephant originated in ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men, who have never come across an elephant before, learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk.

They then describe the elephant based on their partial experience and their descriptions are in complete disagreement on what an elephant is. In some versions they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to project their partial experiences as the whole truth, ignore other people's partial experiences, and one should consider that one may be partially right and may have partial information.

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romer104

romer

romer104
Romer

Answered Aug 22, 2017

They each touched a different par of the elephant.
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