The nature of the Self, in the mind of a child.
Tiarnan is rather philosophical for a six
year old. Today, he was having a serious little chat with his mother, when he
suddenly asked, with the utmost intensity:
“Who is in control of me?”
His mother, Syahidah, focussed on him,
somewhat startled at the question.
“Is it me,
me, or is it my brain?”, he continued, drawing a distinction that seemed a little
mystifying to her.
“Who do you think is in control of you?”,
she prompted, acceptingly.
“Just me.”, he said, simply. “...and God,
sometimes. God controls the whole world – but I am in control of me!”
He seemed happy with that conclusion.
Syahidah was quite happy, too, to have
heard him think so. Listening to Tiarnan is rather refreshing. He ponders the
world, asking questions of matters, that adults have come to overlook, or take
for granted. He then reflects on them, deeply, answering them from within the
context of his experience – yet, meaningfully, nevertheless. Tiarnan is a
little philosopher and, in many ways, is proving to be a deep thinker, prone to
pondering mysteries and cracking the enigmas of life. It is notable that the
questions that concern him most could all be lumped under the heading: “The
Meaning of Life”...for its nature and context are his primary interests. He
really wants to understand what it means to be alive. He doesn’t just accept
that he is alive and go from there...he is really questioning what life is and
what it means to experience the living state. Yet, he is only six years old and
has never read any philosophical or religious work of any kind. He is thinking
for himself, afresh.
All of this leads me to wonder whether, as
an adult, he might become a writer, who ponders deep questions and answers them
for his readers. If so, that would be an altogether familiar outcome, for those
who are privy to my writings of yesteryear (hint: not the general public, as
yet).
Intellectually, Tiarnan has many a likeness
to my own preoccupations – though his are in juvenescent form. That doesn’t
disguise the fact, though, that he seems driven by the same motivations to
question, understand and explain his world. Once again, I marvel at how much
genetic influences appear to play in the formation of our minds, our characters
and our interests.
I look forward to Tiarnan’s many
interesting questions and ponderings, in the future.
Posted by Valentine Cawley
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If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html
I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.
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Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.
My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/
Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)
To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html
If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html
If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html
I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.
There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html
Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.
You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1
Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.
My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/
Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)
Labels: a child's curiosity about the world, child development, clarity of thought, originality, personal insight, philosophical thinking, precocity, self-awareness, thoughtfulness, young philosopher
