Nor does a single swallow make it summer. Here we are being cautioned not to jump to conclusions on the basis of flimsy evidence.
Birds start singing in spring as that is the time of pairing up and defending a territory; they do not sing to celebrate the weather becoming pleasanter. It is a form of false logic to think so:
Birds sing because the weather is pleasant.
This is a pleasant day
Therefore the birds will sing.
This is false because the premise "birds sing because the weather is pleasant" is incorrect; it is a mistaken assumption that the weather alone is the cause.
This type of muddled thinking is responsible for many human ills and miseries as people act in good faith on wrong ideas. Humans might sing on a pleasant day because it makes them happy but it does not follow that birds will be the same, though the pleasantness of the day might act as a stimulus.
Proverbs store the wisdom of ages in short, memorable lines with several layers of meaning. This blog states a weekly proverb and explores its meaning. Sir Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, war leader, writer, painter, historian, bon viveur, whose mother was a United States citizen, recommended that people lacking formal education to learn proverbs. "The Wisdom of Nations lies in their Proverbs... Collect and learn them". William Penn, founder of the State of Pennsylvania.
No comments:
Post a Comment