A short Q & A aiding in the erosion of the individual will's preeminence

(from pink notebook)

Look back on purpose.
Q: Is it possible that someone else knows what is best for us?
A: Yes
Q: How possible?
A: Very possible
Q: So, does this mean we'd be wise to seek out those people?
A: Yes
Q: How do we know when we find them?
A: We would go to the people who have demonstrated the most success with others. Like a mentor, a wise man, leader. Even though they could get things wrong from time to time, there should be no doubt that they'd get thing right more often than you or I would.

{note: admittedly, this could be called plagiarism, it sounds so much like a quote from Plato's Republic, or Laches & ?... At any rate, its very very interesting to note that there is something about modern liberal thinking that resists what this apparant truth about authority implies. Being a modern liberal thinker myself, I might point out the great void that exists just outside our selfs which serves to keep us in constant doubt of all external supposed truths. The void is not truly a void, but might as well be when one considers the vast difference between experiential knowledge (from our senses and direct experience) and any other form of knowledge. What I'm saying is that the only reason I do not simply seek out the wisest, most accomplished individual and hand over my will (as believers try to do with the church and god) is because the great knowledge void, or the base of knowledge that exist apart from my experiential knowledge, is worthy of great fear and distrust. Being liberal, my faith resides in myself, however unfounded that faith may be, and my responsibility is to myself. This notion is empowering and required for individual growth. If one is not liberal, and is more concerned with society as a whole, I'd think he'd have to admit that liberalism and individual growth are only beneficial to society. A society of strong individuals should be better than a society of sheep. Or am I wrong? Also, you might ask whether I am wrong about fearing/distrusting all non-experiential knowledge. What of science? Finally, could a simple answer suffice. Like, handing over our wills temporarily to experts of specific aspects of life/living is wise, while handing over our wills to those who claim to know best about how to live our entire lives is ignorant...for such people, like life coaches, are not likely to exist}