Please answer "true" or "false":
[T]/[F] I have recently stopped abusing my spouse.
Well, I'm waiting. Please answer. No, there is no "C" option, "neither of the above." This is about truth. Or falsity. So weigh in with your #2 pencil by blackening one option. Is it true or false that you have recently stopped abusing your spouse?
The above scenario always makes me giggle. It nicely highlights that we often need to question a question before venturing to respond. Sometimes a question can be . . . wrong.
This topic was brought to mind by this recent finding:
Archaeologist argues world's oldest temples were not temples at all
It seems that on one "side" of the argument you've got option [T], "True -- them things are temples." On the other side: [F], "False -- them things are not temples."
Two sides. True or false. No, you can't weasel out and say, "But what if those things are temple-ish?"
The temples (or not-temples) in question are stone structures discovered in Turkey, dating back more than 10,000 years.
The oldest of the structures at the site are immense buildings with large stone pillars, many of which feature carvings of snakes, scorpions, foxes, and other animals.
But wait, rather than a specialized shrine, archaeologist Ted Banning argues that there is growing evidence for "daily activities at the site" including food preparation. Banning hypothesizes that the structures may have been large, communal houses.
Hmm. In ancient times wasn't there less of a clear distinction between religious activity and daily life? Education and religion, politics and religion, probably even family and food preparation and religion: these were not distinct, easily separable activities. Where you found one, you found the other.
Perhaps an important question would be, "When does a communal meeting/activity house where we find religious artifacts, and where religious behavior occurs, become a temple?"
Of course, by taking sides and arguing over a black or white proposition it is possible to shed light on the gray areas. For that reason, true or false questions can be valuable. But we must remember that words are tools, and we needn't commit to the wrong tool for the job.
Is temple the right tool? I wonder.
Tags: critical thinking, culture, language
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