Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Right to Question... Survival Technique?

Questioning often comes from curiosity.
Is it possible that
questioning is actually an instinctual method of survival,
genetically-informed?
If so, to question is certainly a born right.


"A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands..." 
(Walt Whitman "Song of Myself," Leaves of Grass, 1855)

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

We definiteley have not only the right to question, but an obligation to. If we don't question, how can we learn what we don't know. D.B.

Anonymous said...

Totally, we have the right to question on everything we are able to see, reach, feel, smell, etc. The right to question allows us to make better decisions in our every day life. My mom taught me when I was little to ask her and at school as many questions as I could, in order to learn more.
Patricia Delgado- B47693040

Unknown said...

As a boy I was taught that asking questions was a sign of challenging authority. As an adult I have learned that questions help open up the mind. TC

Anonymous said...

This was my research topic. I think theres so much information that proves we have the right to question. learning is growing, and we do both by experiencing things and gaining knowledge. some knowledge can come from asking questions, and sometimes, just from doing things out of curiosity.

Unknown said...

I agree that questioning is an instinctual thing, and sprouts from a natural curiosity to know what is going on around us. At some point, the desire to know also comes in, and we can't learn anything if we don't ask.
-ML

Janet Almonte said...

Of course it is a born right to be able to ask questions! If not we would go around assuming things! And we all know how assuming can get us into trouble!

Unknown said...

The born right to ask questions is the born right to excel in life. If we dont ask questions then we leave ourselves to start assuming things. Not every one has the answers to every question, but by asking questions we are getting one step closer to a higher knowledge power.

Anonymous said...

Questioning, I have found is a good thing. I have learned so many things from questioning people or situations. A curious mind can be a be life saver in my line of work as a nurse. When in doubt question. Its a natural instinct we should never ignore.
Ann Marie A

Anonymous said...

I Think we have born with the right to make questions because we have been created with a mind to think.

Anonymous said...

I Think we have born with the right to make questions because we have been created with a mind to think.
Claudia B

Anonymous said...

If we want to change the way things are, we question everything. Gary Norris

Anonymous said...

When we are born we know nothing of the world; we come here and we learn from things being taught to us as well as from observation, but questioning plays a great part in our development. Curiosity is something that we humans are born with, and questioning is a way of gathering information and obtaining answers for those lingering thoughts.
-D. Diaz

Luz Mery said...

Questions, yes that is a right we are born with, because my children ask questions all day long. That is also how we learn.

Fernanda A said...

Of course you have to question! Its how we get by. Without questions there would be no answers and without answers how would we solve things, or how would we be knowledgeable? Its a very important right. You should always ask, even if you think its the wrong question.

Melaney said...

Qustion is certainly a born right. In order for us to learn and grow we have to ask questions. If we do not ask someone with more knowledge than us how are we going to grow not only as a person but intelectually. For example, our children need to ask us how to do certain things and why things happen. This is their inquisitive side of growing up. We will never be too old to ask questions.

Anonymous said...

I think that we have the right to question but sometimes we also have to learn when the apropiate time is right to ask questions and to who ask something.

shiv said...

People question to understand what surrounds them. They ask questions in order to increase their knowledge. Without asking questions, there is no means of survival. If we do not know, then how can we overcome anything? When questions are not asked, answers will not be given. So how can we live in world filled with the unknown?

Anonymous said...

I think everyone has the right to question and I also agree that it is a survival technique. It is part of our instinct to question when we do not fully understand something or we are curious. The thought of not having the right to question just sounds absurd. Questioning often encourages develpoment of something new. - v.p

Anonymous said...

You can ask the right questions, but the answers have to come from the right person. E.S.

Anonymous said...

Questioning is a born right. We are all curious to learn about the world around us. Questioning is a survival technique because it opens the door to answers. The answers lead to certainty.

Lisa said...

If you don't ask questions you are assumming, you are taking actions or making decisions based on what other people say. If you do not question it, you may interpret it in a manner that it was not intented. It should be everyones right to question everything. LP

RhWim said...

RW - I agree that questioning is a right you inherit from birth. It is best to ask questions than to assume things.

Anonymous said...

The right to question gives you the oppurtunity to learn. The better informed you are in life in general, puts you in position to survive. D.E.

Anonymous said...

if we could not ask questions ther would be many people who would be clueless. what good is it to live in a world with a bunch of know nothing people.

f.c.

Anonymous said...

"The important thing is never to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." Albert Einstein
To question is human, without question we would have no answers

ND

Anonymous said...

People that want to learn,ask questions to a couple of people. They listen to everyone and take whats best.
-Jeiner P

Pedro Leon said...

I believe people question both ways from curiosity and as an inherent right for survival. When a person's knowledge has approach levels of exhaustion they need to ask questions to survive.P.L

Unknown said...

Adults ask questions as a child does. When you stop wondering, you might as well put your rocker on the front porch and call it a day.

Anonymous said...

if we don't ask the question we will end up like J. Alfred Prufrock.
JB

Jenny said...

I believe that questioning everything around us is essential! How else would we learn?

JR

Anonymous said...

Of course questioning is a born right, how do we learn about the world that surround us if we don't ask questions. Laura R.

cd884 said...

I was always taught to ask everything i had a doubt on no matter what. And it is what i always have done. This is how we explore the world and get knowledge of our surroundings. We should be able to ask anything and be able to get correct response.

Rosa F. said...

Knowledge is power. One doesn't simply acquire knowledge from looking pretty. We have to ask questions. We should always have the right to question in order to learn more about the world and ourselves. A Chinese proverb expresses the necessity of this right by saying, “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.”
--Rosa F.

Anonymous said...

Children learn by asking questions. Students learn by asking questions, it is an effective way of learning. Zulima Alvarez

Anonymous said...

I'm not entirely sure I buy into curiosity being a survival instinct. Curiosity did kill the cat, after all.

-CB

Anonymous said...

I believe the saying goes "If you don't want to know, then don't ask."

We all should be able to question as it is a form of acquiring knowledge which allows us to grow. With the advancements made by man in numerous fields (science, automobiles, building engineering, etc.) someone had to ask that magical question "How can we make this better?"

Eddie M.

Anonymous said...

Question is a right and a choice as well, but it depends because some people like to question and others not. It is important to remark that to question can be good and bad at the same time that's why we need to known how to perform questions without hurting anybody.
E.jorge

Luisa Isla said...

Of course, for survival you have to ask questions about your surrounding. Children are always asking questions; they are curious to learn more. But, as we grow up asking questions might not become a common habit. Our curiosity is what leads to us to accomplish our goals and learn more about ourselves.

Esmeralda said...

Questioning is a method of survival. When you go on a road trip and get lost you question people to get back on track. When you are not sure of something you question. Questioning expands you knowledge.

RV said...

Questioning is a part of the natural process of learning so in order to learn we need to question.

Anonymous said...

To question is a right that can not be taken away form you because with out it we could not expand our knowledge. -AN

Anonymous said...

Questioning things is part of the natural process of learning and is necessary to improve on what, why and the way people do things. It is imperative to protect this inherent right to prevent the arrogant and insecure from taking action to inhibit it.
Gabe

Anonymous said...

Questioning is the source of most of our knowledge as human beings. If we didn't ask questions or act based on our simple curiousities, how would we ever gain information? My gradeschool teachers used to tell me that there was no such thing as a bad question. As i've grown, i've found this statement to be very true. The right to question is a thumbs up in my book.

Anonymous said...

Questioning is the source of most of our knowledge as human beings. If we didn't ask questions or act based on our simple curiousities, how would we ever gain information? My gradeschool teachers used to tell me that there was no such thing as a bad question. As i've grown, i've found this statement to be very true. The right to question is a thumbs up in my book.
-Ukeme Akpan, Sorry i forgot the name on the comment above

Kevin M said...

Questioning is a method of awareness, and is the best way for developing of knowledge it should be a right of questioning but that does not mean that we have to get an answer mandatory.

Anonymous said...

We should have the right to question and the right to know, but those who are questioned have the right to remain silent if they do not feel they need to answer your question. GIL RO

Anonymous said...

Everyone has the right to question;maybe that is why nobody was born knowing everything.

Anonymous said...

the right to question, definately a born right that must be learned to be exercise properly in specific situations. Ask the question, prepare for the answer, that makes asking the question far more difficult than having the 'right' to question. -- KB

TrustMeImADoctor said...

Imagine having a world where our knowledge was limited to what others told us. "Without Questions there are only answers, and an answer without a question is just a statement." I picked this up from Family guy and I believe it means that questions are tools to our suceess. They give us a sense of endless possibilities.

Anonymous said...

Questioning is definitely a form of survival. Without questioning something we never know the answer. You will get further asking questions than just flying by. -GP

Anonymous said...

Asking questions is a very important factor in the learning process, especially of a child. If we do not ask why, what other way can we get an answer. It is definitely in our genetics.
Gaby R.

Anonymous said...

This right is one of debate because it does come from personal curiosity, but to me it’s also a form of survival because from asking one learns, grows and develops. It’s not to be considered a right. It’s a given due to our natural tendencies. - D.T

Unknown said...

There are no dumb questions, the only question that is dumb is the one that you didn't ask.In this case,asking questions is a way of gaining knowledge.

kevin0121 said...

Everyone has the right to question. Curiosity is in our nature, and if the government deicides to take that right away from us,our nation will soon become a nation of unthinkable stupidity.

Miglaude said...

How can we solve an issue if we don’t ask questions?

Ingrid J. said...

I have heard it said," ask me no question I'll tell you no lie." This statement is not wrong if you are being just too nosy, but think of the things we have missed out on and the mistakes we have made and could have avoided, if we were not afraid to ask.