Errare humanum est! Latin aphorism spoken by the great orator Mark Seneca the Elder is known throughout the world and means that error is the path to truth. Why does this aphorism remain relevant for centuries? We will try to answer this question.
Accuracy - a property of regularity
Humans tend to make mistakes. We all once heard that. The Latin aphorism known all over the world - Errare humanum est - has an analogue in the Russian language: "He who does nothing is not mistaken." In personal experience, in scientific discoveries, across the whole community, a mistake can be made. The question is the degree of responsibility for it.
And indeed, in order for progressive development to take place, a mistake is simply necessary. What is her nature? This is an area of enlightenment, the sphere of experiment with the boundaries of knowledge. If a person knows an option to solve problems, it will not be difficult for him to choose the best path of development of events. The scale is not important, this applies to both the individual and the whole society.
Nature of error
In his development, a person constantly overcomes his own boundaries. Therefore, knowledge is so difficult for a person. It does not matter whether it is practical (how to do something) or a process of spiritual growth. In the process of choice, a person commits an act. He always chooses. But not always right. And the price of an error can be different. Hence another proverb: "A person punishes himself so much as no one else can do this."
The nature of error is hidden in the mechanism of knowledge: Errare humanum est! Mistake - ignorance of the best option. But it is thanks to her that new prospects and opportunities open up. The experience of cognition is always fraught with the risk of erroneous choice, but there is no other option. An experiment is a verification of the truth of a solution; any hypotheses are confirmed experimentally.
History knows many facts when a repeated failure in experiments led to the discovery of world magnitude.
Historical errors
History knows cases where a mistake was the cause of discoveries on a global scale. For example, an error in the trajectory of the Columbus sea voyage gave a chance to discover America.
The erroneous principle of socialist equality, laid the foundation of the Soviet state, has shown an example of the strength of the ideological foundation of society.
Not always a mistake leads to the truth. More often it reveals an imperfection in knowledge, the limitations of our capabilities and is an incentive for finding the best option. In this sense, we can also speak of the creative power of error.
Errare humanum est! The translation of this Latin expression literally sounds like this: "Error is peculiar to human nature." Indeed, the whole path of the development of Homo sapiens is a movement to one’s nature, to self-knowledge, a process of self-improvement. And the initial principle of the imperfection of its nature is a priori recognition of an error in the choice of a scenario.
Analogs of expression
In Russian verbal creativity, there are many similar in meaning, capacious statements:
- "He who does nothing is not mistaken."
- "Learn from mistakes."
- "Error is the right decision under other conditions."
Rich in content and the words of the great figures of the world who have every right to speak about a mistake, because their contribution to the development of the human community is immeasurable:
- “Freedom is nothing if the right to make a mistake is excluded” (M. Gandhi).
- “The majority is always mistaken, the truth is in the minority” (Ibsen).
- “An intelligent person not only makes mistakes, but gives others a chance” (Churchill).
All statements have one meaning: the recognition of a mistake is a condition of human freedom, everyone has the right to do just that.
As Chesterfield said: "Fear of the possibility of error should not turn us away from the search for truth."