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Thinking

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Thinking, Man’s Greatest Power

It is common knowledge that humans and chimpanzees are closely related. In fact, 95% of their DNA sequence is in common. But what separates a man from a chimpanzee? The blurred line that borders the two is ‘thinking’. Thinking is what makes a man. Thinking is man’s greatest power. And thinking can lead a man to its gradual completion or utter destruction.

Adolf Hitler is a man of reason, as he was the Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was also the leader of now infamous, Nazi Party. Under his domain, he ordered the killing of the six million innocent Jews because of his ideology concept of racial hygiene. He ‘reasoned’ that the Aryan race is the so-called ‘pure race’, and the only race that should proliferate around the world. And his hubris and ideology led to his imminent downfall and demise, with six million innocent people in tow. Clearly, ‘thinking’ is man’s greatest power, but with great power comes great responsibility. If one lets it to rampant on its own, thinking is man’s utter destruction.

On a lighter note, thinking may well be the cause of man’s gradual completion, in terms of spirit and science. Take for example the early philosophers – like Aristotle. Aristotle is the man who thought about the differentiation between a use value and an exchange value, which was the rudimentary form of economy. Without his thinking, there may not be an economy today.

Men like Mahatma Gandhi prove that thinking is a power that can revolutionize a whole nation. Mahatma Gandhi’s ethics and beliefs about a peaceful revolution influenced the people around him. His tireless dedication towards the independence of his country, India, earned him the honorific “Mahatma” which means “Great Soul”.

Thinking is a great neutral power. Without this, man cannot be called a man. And as a neutral power, thinking can be either destructive or constructive, depending on which holds it. But nevertheless, if wielded in the right hands, thinking may well be the salvation that humankind needs.

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