APHORISMS

      An aphorism is defined as:

1) a short, concise statement of a principle, or;

2) a short, pointed sentence expressing a wise or clever observation or a general truth.

      There is nothing wrong with using an aphorism to communicate an idea. Indeed, such a cliche can often lead to instant understanding simply because we've used a familiar phrase to make our point.

      They can get us into trouble, however, when they float through our heads, unexamined, and pop up in automatic response to questions that deserve more attention. "Unexamined" is the key word here. It's possible to unconciously harbor contradictory, random notions, and that can make for all sorts of trouble in forming the basic assumptions that underlie our actions.

      Here are some examples of what we're talking about: (we're not considering their truth or falsehood here, just listing examples)

"Everything is relative" / "All religions are basically the same" / "Women are inferior to men" / "Men are inferior to women" / "If it feels good, it is good" / "Don't be so sure; no one can be certain of anything" / "That may be good in theory, but it doesn't work in practice" / "There is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe" / "We are alone in the universe" / "You can't legislate morality" / "God loves you" / "I couldn't help it! nobody can help anything they do" / "To err is human" / "Religion is myth" / "People are basically good" / "There are no absolutes" / "Some things are absolutely wrong" / "It may be true for you, but it's not true for me"