Beginnings.txt

"beginnings.txt" is a text document found in The Talos Principle, dated to 260 BCE. It is found on the terminal in area A4.

Content

Straton of Stageira, On Beginnings (Fragment)

It is the grave error of many philosophers, not only of the Athenian schools but also of many others, that they begin not with observation of the cosmos as it surrounds us, but with a conclusion already in mind; and often that conclusion is that the world was created ideal, and mankind itself the greatest creation of the gods. Yet neither the world nor the gods owe mankind perfection; it is arrogance itself to presume so, and contrary to all the methods of philosophy. The honest philosopher seeks only the Truth, even if it bears no comfort; and he must begin by assuming, as Socrates said, that all he knows is that he knows nothing.

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Notes

• The translated hexadecimal string text is a quote attributed to Socrates from the trial to which he was sentenced to death. The dictum was recorded in Plato's Apology.