Greatness
Is in the Approach, Not the Individual
That's how it is: "It doesn't matter who says what, but this very saying...",
importance refers to a saying, i.e. a phrase, an approach and it is not
necessarily important something said by someone who is considered important!
That is, indeed, great sayings can be said by people who are not considered
great, famous, etc.
The quality of an idea or approach should be judged by its intrinsic merit
rather than by the reputation of the person presenting it. Intellectual rigor,
logical consistency, and empirical support are the factors that determine the
strength of an approach—not the status of its author.
Why an Approach Should Be Considered Great
A great approach to any subject exhibits the following qualities:
- Logical
coherence: The argument follows a clear, structured, and
internally consistent reasoning process.
- Empirical
support: Claims are backed by data, experiments, or
historical evidence.
- Predictive
power: The approach provides accurate predictions or
useful insights.
- Practical
applicability: It has real-world relevance and can be
implemented effectively.
- Falsifiability: A
strong theory should be testable and open to refinement or rejection.
- Interdisciplinary
validation: Insights from multiple fields reinforce
its robustness.
Historical and Intellectual Support
Prominent intellectuals and scientists have long emphasised that the merit
of an idea is independent of its source:
- Bertrand
Russell argued in On Authority and the Individual
(1949) that intellectual progress depends on questioning ideas regardless
of their origin, stating: "The fact that an opinion has been
widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd."
- Karl
Popper, in The Logic of Scientific Discovery
(1934), stressed falsifiability as the hallmark of good science,
underscoring that even the most renowned figures could be wrong.
- Richard
Feynman, the physicist, famously stated: "Science
is the belief in the ignorance of experts," highlighting that
established figures do not have a monopoly on truth.
- Albert
Einstein once remarked that "Unthinking respect
for authority is the greatest enemy of truth," reinforcing the
idea that ideas must stand on their own merit.
These approaches illustrate that the intellectual status of an individual
does not determine the validity of their views. Many historically celebrated
figures held mistaken or outdated beliefs, while relatively unknown individuals
have occasionally revolutionised entire fields.
Conclusion
The evaluation of an approach should always be grounded in reason, evidence, and logical scrutiny, not in the prestige of its proposer. While personal reputation may draw attention to an idea, it is only the robustness of the approach that should determine its greatness. True intellectual progress flourishes when critical thinking prevails over authority.