ENGLISH version

Thanks for your interest in my latest considerations. My idea this year is to share with you a fear of

mine: I am scared of people that never have doubts, those people that always behave as they knew

the "truth". I wouldn't find better words for introducing this issue than those used by the writer in the

text below. In particular he manages to be concise but funny at the same time, something far away

from the lenghty and boring writing of my former Riflessioni.

The passage below is taken from a book, il Dubbio, written by Luciano De Crescenzo, an engineer that

got bored of working at IBM and then turned himself into a philosopher. I hope you'll enjoy it as I do

every time I read it.

Background

[The engineer goes and visit Professor Barbieri, a retired teacher with a lot of time for posing as a

philosopher whose wife's name is Assunta. The speaker is the engineer.]

_________________________

As far as Faith is concerned, the Professor took me one day to his bedroom to show me his

patron Saint. It was a frame, empire style, with a question mark inside made of little stained bulbs.

Below, on a  little shelf, there were two grave lights, those that are used in cemeteries. Barbieri

pressed a button and the little bulbs began to light on and off. <<I'm sorry to interrupt>> Mrs.

Assunta said <<... but I cannot stand that tabernacle! Actually, I truly hate it!>>

<<Don't mind her, engineer, pay attention and follow me instead>> said Barbieri. <<The Question

Mark is the symbol of Good, while the exclamation mark is the symbol of Evil. If in the street you run

into a Question Mark, into a priest of the positive Doubt, then you can be sure that they are decent

people, almost always tolerant, helpful and democratic. On the contrary, if you meet an exclamation

mark, a champion of the Great Certainties, the pure person with an unshakable faith, then you must

be afraid since faith often turns itself into violence. I'm not referring here only to religious faith, but

also to political and sports faith, in short to any kind of faith. Islamic fundamentalists, football fans,

members of Red or Black brigades [Italian terrorist groups], they all belong to the same race, the race

that thinks to be the only one to know the Truth, as if it could really exist a unique and incontrovertible

Truth. On the contrary the Doubt is a discreet divinity, is a friend that gently knocks on your door. The

Doubt calmly explains his ideas and it will soon change them if someone shows him that those ideas

were wrong>>.

[..at the end of their conversation]

...<<Is it possible to live without certainties?>>, the engineer asks.

<<Yes, only if you are able to hope.>>, prof. Barbieri answers.

.

_________________________

I have got a frame with a question mark inside in my room..... and you? This page is dedicated to all those 

that do not have a frame with a question mark somewhere close to them and that have no thought of

putting it into their rooms.

Thanks for your interest in this page. If you have any comment please let me know and also tell me if I

can publish it here.

                                                                                                                            Vincenzo

... trying to become a priest of the postive Doubt