The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

415THE BEATEN TRACKO_F_F_LEONARD E. "READI HAVE long been intrigued by theseeming paradox that the moreone knows the more he knows hedoes not know. This is anotherway of saying that every gain inknowledge increasingly exposesone to the infinite unknown. 1Another aspect of this intriguingparadox: as a person grows inknowledge he is exposed to a newset of friends - and almost certainlyfaces a dwindling numberof old friends. There are manyways to lose friends, of course,but what I am suggesting is thata dwindling audience is not necessarilya sign of failure; on thecontrary, it may signify personalprogress. This is the point I wouldlike to explore.Ortega presents us with thereality of this problem:1 See "The IFiHdom in Knowing IKllow j\/ot," ]\'OtCH from P/;;E, March.1971. Copy on request.So far as ideas are concerned,meditation on any theme, if positiveand honest, inevitably separates himwho does the meditating from theopinion prevailing around him, fronlthat which ... can be ca:lled "public"or "popular" opinion. Every intellectualeffort sets us apart froni thecommonplace, and leads us by hiddenand difficult paths to secludedspots where we find ourselves anlidunaccustomed thoughts. These arethe results of 111editation.:!Why dwell on this? A simplereason: if you are on the righttrack and gaining in knowledgebut fail to read these signs aright,you may throw in the spongesimply because liRteners are fe\v;you may call it quits just beforethe dawn. In a word, I hope to:! What Is Philosophy? by Ortegoa yGasset (New York: W. W. Norton &Company, Inc., 1960) p. 15.